Maelstrom of the Gods
by The Red Star
Summary: During the invasion in the chunin exams, Sarutobi is saved by one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Not to mention the man's sisters, one of whom falls for Naruto! Read, and see how Naruto rises to become the God of wind. Eventual godlike naru!
1. A Kami's Arrival!

**Greetings, readers! This has been in my head for a while now. I wanna know what you guys think, and whether or not I should continue it.**

**So, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! Only this story.**

Sarutobi was getting desperate. He was fighting Orochimaru, when suddenly he summoned the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages. He also tried to summon the Yondaime, but Sarutobi had been able to stop him. Needless to say, he was getting his ass kicked. Even with his personal summon, Enma, it wasn't enough.

'_Looks like I have to use Minato's __**Shiki Fuiin**__ after all…_' he was about to make shadow clones so that he could stop all three of them, but there was an enormous bolt of lightning that hit the barrier Orochimaru's lackeys erected around them and pierced through. The bolt stayed for several seconds, as it formed into a _person_. When the bolt finally ceased, there stood a very tall, handsome young man. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and piercing black eyes. He wore a white battle kimono, and had a katana tucked in his obi. He also did not wear sandals, Sarutobi noted. He looked around for a moment, then turned towards the old Hokage.

"Hey, Jiji, where am I?" the young man asked.

"You are in Konoha, young man. Who are you?"

"Who is this, Sarutobi? Some last ditch effort to beat me?" Orochimaru taunted, only for the young man to look towards him. Said young man then turned towards the snake sannin, and scowled when he saw Orochimaru's blade.

"So you're the one…" the man said, then vanished. Not in a puff of smoke, not in a flash, he just vanished. Orochimaru was suddenly sent reeling back, dropping the Kusanagi. The resurrected Hokage 's turned to attack, only to be sent flying towards their successor. Sarutobi's eyes widened. The young man was now standing where Orochimaru once was, with the Kusanagi in hand, looking down at said blade.

"What the hell did you do?" The man said, scowling. "You corrupted the Kusanagi, turned it into this… _thing_." the man said, voice full of disdain.

"Who the hell are you?" Orochimaru shouted standing back up.

"I am Susanoo, Kami of storms, you pathetic Ningen." The man, now known as Susanoo, said, never dropping his scowl. Everyone's eyes widen at that proclamation.

"You claim to be a god?" Orochimaru says.

"Not a claim, asshole. I AM Susanoo." Susanoo says. "And you are guilty of several crimes."

"And what crimes would those be, pray tell?" Orochimaru says while trying to summon Kusanagi to him, only to find that it isn't moving from Susanoo's grip. Susanoo, who notices this, smirks.

"Surprised? The sword won't move, because it recognizes me as the one that cut it from the Yamata no Orochi."

"So you really ARE Susanoo?" Sarutobi says, getting a nod from the man.

"Indeed I am. As for the crimes, Orochimaru, was it? I am not the one to ask."

"And who would be?" Orochimaru said.

"My Nee-san, Amaterasu." as soon as he said her name, a blaze of fire appeared not ten feet from him, and began to shrink down to the form of a human, much like with Susanoo and the lightning. The main difference, however, was that the fire was forming into the shape of a woman. A very attractive woman, Sarutobi noted. She had long black hair, with impassive red eyes, and wore a red and white kimono. She had a necklace that had five magatama beads, the one in the center being the largest.

"Hello, Otouto." The woman said.

"Hey. I found the one who stole the Kusanagi, as well as the weapon itself. Here." He said, holding the handle towards her.

"Hold on to it for now, Otouto. I will need my hands for this." she says, cracking her knuckles as she walks towards Orochimaru.

"I take it she's Amaterasu?" Sarutobi asks, receiving a nod from Susanoo.

"Yup, that's my Nee-san." he said.

Amaterasu walked towards Orochimaru, disgust evident on her face. "You stole and corrupted the Kusanagi, a gift from my Otouto, from me. You turned it into a monstrosity. For what purpose? Why?" She asked.

"Power, of course. And immortality. I will become a god!" Orochimaru proclaims. Amaterasu only sighs.

"Typical. Another Ningen who wants to be a god. That is not up to you. Even if you mastered your immortality jutsu, you would still be human. That one thing cannot be changed." Amaterasu states, getting an angry glare from Orochimaru.

"SHUT UP!" Orochimaru shouts, charging the goddess. She rolled her eyes, easily dodging the man. She performed a simple palm thrust to his chest, sending him a good twenty feet back. The two Hokages charged her as well, only to have the same happen to them. Amaterasu looked at the downed Hokages.

"You poor souls. Being brought back to this world through such a barbaric method. I think that Imouto would be better off dealing with you two. Tsukuyomi!" She shouts, causing a beam of light to appear near her. It also began to form a human shape, though this one was much smaller. When it finished, a little girl was formed. Said girl also had long black hair and kind purple eyes. She wore a purple and white kimono, and had a smile upon her face.

"Hello, Nii-san, Nee-san." Tsukuyomi said, looking between her siblings.

"Hey, Imouto." Susanoo said, walking towards her. Tsukuyomi smiled even more upon seeing her brother, but frowned when she saw the Kusanagi.

"Is that…?" she asked, gesturing towards the blade. Susanoo nodded. "What happened to it?" she asked.

"It was modified, corrupted, by that man over there." Susanoo replied, nodding his head towards Orochimaru, who was slowly picking himself up. "Can you fix it?" he asked.

"Not right away, not without the Yata mirror. I can restore it, but it will take time without the mirror." she replied, looking sad. Susanoo smiled.

"Good. So long as the sword can be fixed. It's not like we don't have time!" he said, making her smile again.

"Thanks, Nii-san." she says. Tsukuyomi looks toward her sister and giggles at what she sees. Amaterasu was currently hitting Orochimaru repeatedly over the head.

"Should we stop her?" Tsukuyomi asks.

"Nah. Let her get it out of her system. Besides, better him than me." Susanoo replies, rubbing his head. Susanoo looks towards the resurrected Hokages.

"Imouto." he says, getting Tsukuyomi's attention.

"Yes, Nii-san?"

"Can you deal with them? I have a few questions for the old man over there." he says, gesturing towards Sarutobi.

"Hai, Nii-san." she says, walking towards them. The Hokages stood up, eyes locking on Tsukuyomi. Tobirama charged forward, while Hashirama began forming hand signs for a jutsu. Tsukuyomi merely lifted her right hand and a white energy shot towards Tobirama, sending him towards his brother. Hashirama dodged his brother, finishing his jutsu.

"**Mokuton: mokusatsu shibari no jutsu!**" he shouts, sanding several tendrils of wood towards her. She merely fires another blast of white energy, disrupting the attack and sending Hashirama crashing into his brother.

"Truly sad. To think a person would bring someone back to life in such a manner. I shall free your souls, don't you worry." she says, walking towards them. They tried to get up and attack again, but the same white energy held them down. She put her hands on their foreheads, the white energy coursing through their bodies. Their bodies then disintegrated. In place of the bodies, their were now only two souls, in the forms of the former Hokages.

"Thank you…" They both said, before vanishing. Tsukuyomi smiled. She looked towards her brother.

"So, old man, you mind filling me in on a few things?" Susanoo asked.

"I will do my best to answer any questions you may have." Sarutobi said, seeing as the current threats to the village were being dealt with.

"Well, for starters, who the hell is the guy my Nee-san is beating the shit out of right now?"

"That man is known as Orochimaru. He was a former student of mine, until he left the village for being caught experimenting on human beings."

"And you didn't kill him for that?" Susanoo asked, surprised.

"I couldn't. I saw him as if he were my son. I just couldn't do it."

"I see. Well, it looks like you won't have to worry about having to kill him yourself, as it seems my Nee-san is doing a good job of it" Susanoo said, looking over towards Amaterasu, who was _still_ hitting Orochimaru repeatedly.

"And they say _I _have anger issues." he said. Tsukuyomi stood next to her brother.

"Are you _sure _we shouldn't stop her?"

"Actually, I think we should. For now, anyway." he said, and the siblings began to move towards their angry sister. Susanoo quickly grabbed her by her arms and lifted her off of the ground. Tsukuyomi quickly restrained Orochimaru using that odd energy.

"Put me down, Otouto!" Amaterasu shouted.

"Not until you calm down. We need him alive right now. You can kill him later, okay?" she calmed down after that, and Susanoo put her down. As soon as he released her, the three of them felt a enormous rush of Youki.

"What the…?" Susanoo said, looking towards the forest.

"That's odd. There haven't been any free Biju in years." Amaterasu states, also looking towards the forest.

"I'll go and check it out." Tsukuyomi states, before teleporting using that energy again.

"Now, then," Susanoo states, turning back towards Sarutobi, "Where were we?"

* * *

Tsukuyomi teleported to the area she felt the Youki coming from. When she got there, she saw a giant blade sticking out of the ground. Upon moving closer, she saw two boys, one, with red hair, flat on his back, and the other, a blond-haired boy, on his stomach. She heard the blond boy telling the other something about not being alone, and love. She didn't quite catch exactly what he was saying, but she got the gist of it. She was surprised to sense small traces of Youki coming from both of them. She moved closer to the two boys, and was shocked at what she felt. She sensed a LARGE amount of Youki hidden within the blonde. She moved closer to the boys, who only just now seemed to notice her.

"Who are you?" the blonde asked.

"I am not here to harm either of you. I'm here to help you." she knelt down, directly in between the two boys, and the white energy seeped out of her, covering the boys. When the energy receded, the boys were healed of their wounds, but still exhausted.

As soon as the energy receded, a black haired boy landed near the blonde and two people, a boy wearing a full body black suit with a red and yellow circle on the front, purple face paint, and a black hood, and a girl with a fan on her back and her hair done up into four pigtails, landed near the red-headed boy.

"Who are you?" the black haired boy said, taking a combat stance. She ignored him, however, and moved towards the red-head. She put her hand on his head.

"What's your name?" she asked, looking down at the boy.

"Gaara." he responded. She smiled.

"My name is Tsukuyomi. Nice to meet you, Gaara." her hand begun to glow, and Gaara could feel Shukaku's presence in the back of his mind recede. After a few seconds, she removed her hand from his head.

"What did you…?" he asked.

"I perfected the seal. _It_ won't bother you anymore."

"So… I can sleep?" he asked, trying to process all that's happened.

"Yes. You are free to do whatever you want." she said, never once dropping her smile.

"T-Thank you, Tsukuyomi." then, Gaara's siblings picked him up, the girl thanking her, and left. She turned towards the blonde. The black haired boy was standing in front of him in a combat stance. There was also now a girl with pink hair laying near the blonde.

"I am no threat to you, nor your friend. Let me pass, and I can help them." Tsukuyomi said, stepping forward.

Sasuke was torn. They were all tired, and he and Sakura were injured. "How can you help us?"

"I can remove that mark on you, for starters." she said, making his eyes widen.

"How do you know about that?" he said.

"I know a great many things, Sasuke. I also know that the path you are currently on will only lead to your death. How will you restore your clan then?" she questions, no longer smiling. Sasuke glared at her.

"Now is not the time for this. Let me help your friends" Sasuke slowly stepped to the side, allowing Tsukuyomi to pass. Tsukuyomi kneeled down between the two downed people and lightly laid her hands on their heads. The same white energy surrounded her hands and entered their heads. After a few moments, they both awakened. The pink haired girl's eyes immediately locked onto Sasuke, and she moved towards him. The blonde moved his head to see Tsukuyomi looking over him. Still only partially conscious, he said the first thing on his mind.

"Beautiful…" he said, then, waking up fully, immediately blushed and tried to stand. Tried and failed. Taking pity on the boy, she grabbed his head after he fell yet again and put it on her lap.

"Better?" she asked, smiling at him. Naruto blushed.

"Umm…yeah… I'm Naruto." he said, still blushing.

'_He's cute._' she thought. "My name is Tsukuyomi. Tell me, are you a ninja of this village?" she asked.

"Yup!" he said, grinning, "I'm even gonna be the next Hokage!"

"I'm sure you will." she said. Naruto actually looked surprised.

"You actually believe me?" he said, surprised. "No one's ever really believed in me before." now it was Tsukuyomi's turn to be surprised.

"No one? That's odd. Anyway, as fun as talking to you is, I think I better get back to my siblings. They should be done talking to the old man by now." Naruto sat up and turned around at that.

"You're siblings are talking to the old man? Can you take me to him?"

"Sure." she said, standing up. "Take my hand." Naruto grabbed her hand and turned towards his teammates. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go talk to the old man. See you later!" and the white energy swirled around the two of them, and they were gone.

"Where'd they go, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"My guess is to see the Hokage. We've gotta report back to Kakashi. Let's go." and the two of them headed back to the village.

Rooftop

Tsukuyomi and Naruto arrived on the roof to see Susanoo and Amaterasu talking to Sarutobi about something. Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing Orochimaru, and would've attacked, if not for the fact that Orochimaru was restrained from moving by Tsukuyomi's energy, and Tsukuyomi still had a firm grip on his hand. Tsukuyomi led Naruto over to her siblings, who just noticed her.

"Hey, Imouto. Who's the kid?" Susanoo asked, pointing at Naruto.

"This is Naruto. He's a ninja of this village, and one of the sources of the Youki we felt a moment ago." Naruto looked at Tsukuyomi, shocked.

"Really?" Susanoo said, kneeling down to look Naruto in the eye. His eyes narrowed for a moment, then relaxed. "You've got the Kyuubi in you." Susanoo stated.

"H-How'd you-"

"We can sense Youki." Amaterasu answered.

"Besides, I think we should recognize the Youki of one of the beasts that we created." Susanoo said, making Naruto's and Sarutobi's eyes widen.

"Y-You created the Kyuubi?" Sarutobi said in shock.

"Not just Kyuubi. We created all of the Biju." Amaterasu explained.

"Why?" Sarutobi asked.

"To keep balance. The Biju were created to preserve natural order. Without them, the world would have deteriorated." Tsukuyomi explained. Sarutobi, still in shock, merely nodded.

"I see… what exactly is it you three want?" Sarutobi asked, finally.

"Well, we want our stuff back." Susanoo said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"My Nii-san's weapon, the Totsuka Blade, and my treasure, the Yata mirror, are still missing. We were also looking for the Kusanagi, my Nee-san's weapon, but we have it now." Tsukuyomi said, gesturing towards the blade, still in Susanoo's hands.

"So you've come to regain your possessions?" Sarutobi stated.

"Not just to regain them. The ones who have stolen from us are to be killed, as stealing from a god is punished by death." Amaterasu said, now looking at Orochimaru. Said man was still incapacitated by Tsukuyomi's energy.

"So you're gonna kill Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, looking at Tsukuyomi.

"Yes. More specifically, Nee-san will. You kill the one who stole from you." Tsukuyomi explained to Naruto.

"So what happens now?" Sarutobi asked.

"We're gonna continue our search, after Nee-san kills Orochimaru." Amaterasu then began walking towards Orochimaru, who began squirming, trying to escape.

"NO! I'm immortal! I cannot die!" Orochimaru shouted, trying to escape. The energy held strong, though. Amaterasu merely shook her head, motioning towards Susanoo. He walked over to his sister.

"What's up?" she gestured to the katana at his waist. He nodded and unsheathed the blade, handing it to her.

"Remember, it's a normal katana." he warned. She nodded, then continued to walk towards the trapped sannin, who was still trying futilely to escape. Now standing over the snake sannin, she raised the sword, and the blade began to glow orange. Energy pulsed through the blade, and Naruto and Sarutobi could feel the air around them heat up. The blade suddenly turned white, though you could see a very small amount of fire seep from the blade. Amaterasu stabbed Orochimaru through the heart, and the heat in the blade vanished. Suddenly, Orochimaru began to scream. The scent of burning flesh was pungent in the air, and, suddenly, Orochimaru's body burst into flames. After only a minute, the body had been completely incinerated. She turned around, facing the others, and saw mixed reaction. Susanoo was smirking, obviously happy with the death of Orochimaru. Tsukuyomi was smiling as always, still holding Naruto's hand. Speaking of Naruto, the blonde looked shocked at the display, as well as the smell. Sarutobi simply looked surprised at the display of power.

"Now THAT'S my Nee-chan!" Susanoo commented, making her roll her eyes.

"Impressive indeed, Nee-san." Tsukuyomi said. Amaterasu smiled.

"Whoa…" was all Naruto said. Sarutobi didn't say anything, instead staring at where Orochimaru once was. Amaterasu handed the katana back to Susanoo, who immediately began inspecting it.

"Well, this is a first. You actually didn't break my katana!" he comments, sheathing the blade.

"In all the time we've been around, I've only broken one of your swords." she replied.

"Like hell! You've broken at least three!" Susanoo replied, getting a glare from Amaterasu.

"Anyway," Tsukuyomi interrupted, "Now what? We have no leads as to where the Totsuka or the Yata mirror are. Where are we supposed to look?"

"Dunno. Why can't Izanagi-sama help us with this?" Susanoo said.

"Maybe because he's busy running our realm?" Amaterasu answered.

"It shouldn't be that hard!" he replied.

"Especially since you're not there right now." she comments.

"HEY!"

"Nii-san, Nee-san, we're getting off track." Tsukuyomi interrupted.

"Can I help you look?" Naruto asked. Tsukuyomi smiled at him.

"I'd like that, Naruto-kun." Susanoo smirked, while Amaterasu looked at her Imouto with a smile.

"Well, you can't help us being that weak!" Susanoo said, making Naruto glare at him.

"Hey! I'm tough!" Naruto said.

"Maybe by Ningen standards, Gaki, but not by Kami standards. So, in order to prevent you from getting yourself killed, I will turn you into a badass!" Susanoo proclaimed.

"Y-You're gonna train me?" Naruto asked.

"Well, DUH!"

Amaterasu, meanwhile, had incinerated three of the sound four, leaving only a red haired girl alive, though she had burns all over her body. She picked the girl up and carried her back to her siblings.

"Who's that?" Susanoo asked.

"Don't know. Didn't feel like killing her." she explained.

"What are you gonna do with her?" he asked.

"Find out information. She might have a clue as to where your treasures are. She worked for Orochimaru, who managed to steal the Kusanagi. She might know." Susanoo nodded.

"Right."

"Well, there are things that need attending, so I'm afraid I must go." Sarutobi said.

"We'll go with you. Odds are, people expect you to be dead." Amaterasu said, handing the girl to Susanoo, who slung her over his shoulder like a potato sack.

"Yeah. Come on, Naruto." Tsukuyomi said, tugging Naruto's hand so that he'd follow her. Naruto nodded, and the five of them proceeded to the exam stadium.

Chunin Exam Stadium

The five of them had only arrived moments ago. They looked down to the stadium floor, and saw a silver haired man and a man wearing a green jumpsuit who had bowl-cut hair fighting two Oto nins

"Kakashi-sensei! Gekimayu-sensei!" Naruto shouted. Susanoo turned to face Naruto.

"You know those two?" he asked.

"Yeah! The one with silver hair is my sensei! The other's his rival!" Naruto exclaimed. Susanoo nodded and jumped down to the stadium floor.

"Who are you?" the silver haired man, now known as Kakashi, asked.

"My name is Susanoo, and I'm on your side, for now." he said, drawing his sword and pointing it at the Oto nin.

"I don't really see the point in you resisting, seeing as your leader is dead." he states.

"Liar!" one of the nin shouted.

"No, it's true. My Nee-san killed him with this very sword." Susanoo explained, shaking his sword slightly. "So either you give up, or I start severing body parts." he added darkly, glaring at the nin.

"Well, then. I see only one way out of this." a gray haired Oto nin stated, "Escape" he left the stadium, disappearing via Shunshin. Susanoo made short work of the other nin, quickly dashing behind him, severing his head. He flicked the blood off of his blade and sheathed it, turning towards the two Konoha nin. He gestured towards the others on the balcony, who quickly jumped down.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said, waving at his sensei.

"Hey Naruto. I take it mission accomplished?" he said, pulling his headband down to cover his Sharingan.

"Yup! I even beat Gaara!" he replied.

"Really? That's amazing Naruto." Kakashi said. He looked towards the others there, until he saw Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, who are these three?"

"They defeated Orochimaru, Kakashi, and saved me." Sarutobi replied, making Kakashi and Gai's eyes widen.

"R-Really?"

"Yes. Now, report." Sarutobi said.

"The Oto nin are retreating, but some are still attacking. The Anbu are dealing with them, but they are having a bit of trouble." Kakashi states. Susanoo stepped forward, after laying the girl on the ground near Naruto and Tsukuyomi.

"I'll help with that, Jiji." Susanoo disappeared in a bolt of lightning, shocking Kakashi and Gai.

"What of the academy students?"

"They are under the Hokage mountain, as per standard procedure." Gai stated.

"Amaterasu, if it's not too much trouble, would you check on them?" Sarutobi asked.

"Of course. It beats just standing here." she said, dissipating in a blast of fire. No sooner had she left, then Naruto's teammates arrived.

"Naruto? How'd you get here before us?" Sakura shouted.

"Simple. Teleportation." Tsukuyomi replied.

"Anyway, I defeated Gaara." Sasuke said, smirking.

"That's bull, Teme!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at Sasuke. "I beat Gaara, and you know it!"

"Prove it, Dobe."

"I can, actually." Naruto said, now calm. "Do you have the toad contract?"

"Of course not, Dobe."

"Well, there you go. I summoned the boss toad to fight Gaara. Ask him for confirmation." Naruto said. Tsukuyomi smiled at Naruto.

"That's kinda tough to do, seeing as he's not here." Sasuke said, smirking his usual smirk.

"Well, I could always summon him again, and you could ask him then." Sasuke's smirk faded.

"Enough! The two of you can argue later! The point is, Gaara has been defeated. Konoha is still under attack." Sarutobi said. Naruto nodded, and Sasuke nodded slowly.

"My Nii-san and Nee-san are more than capable enough to slaughter the lot of them. Sending backup would only slow them down." Tsukuyomi said.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Sarutobi asked.

"Well, Nii-san is probably going nuts right now," an explosion was heard in the distance, followed by maniacal laughter, "and Nee-san would sooner rip someone's head off before allowing any harm to come to the children, so I think the best course would be to stay out of their way. So long as we do that, I don't have any objections to anything you plan." she said, still holding Naruto's hand.

"All right, then, Kakashi, Gai, I want you to assist in repelling the Oto nin. Sasuke, Sakura, Go to the medics. Get yourselves treated. Tsukuyomi, Naruto, Assist Gai and Kakashi, if you will. I will help Jiraiya dispose of the snakes." Sarutobi then left via Shunshin, Tsukuyomi teleported her and Naruto out of there, Kakashi and Gai also left via Shunshin, while Sasuke and Sakura had to run.

Konoha Wall

Susanoo had been chasing a group of Oto nin that had scattered after he shot that enormous lightning bolt at them, killing half of them. He had chased them to the wall when four of them suddenly lost their heads. A team of Anbu jumped out of the shadows and slaughtered the rest of them. They were apparently being led by the Anbu with the Neko mask.

"Not bad, not bad." Susanoo commented, clapping at the attack.

"Who are you?" the Neko masked Anbu asked.

"Ironic. A person wearing a mask asks me who I am. You give your name first, then I'll tell you mine." he stated.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she questioned.

"Well, I was after those Oto nin, so for now I guess I'm on your side."

"Very well. My name is Yugao Uzuki." she said, removing her mask.

"Beautiful and deadly. You may call me Susanoo." he said, giving a mock bow.

"Like the god?" one of the Anbu behind her asked.

"The one and only. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have ninja to kill." he said, disappearing in a bolt of lightning.

"Susanoo," Yugao muses, then quickly shakes her head and replaces her Anbu mask, "Move out!" she orders, and the squad disappears to continue their job.

Hokage Mountain (secret cavern)

Iruka was standing with the other teachers, watching the students. He wished he could know what was happening up there. He was broken from his thoughts when a tornado of flames appeared not ten feet from them. Preparing to defend the students, they were all shocked to see a beautiful woman step out of the torrent, before dispelling it. She looked around, taking in the situation. She turned to the teachers and began to walk towards them. Said teachers were still on guard.

"You are the teachers at the ninja academy, yes?" she asked.

"Yes…" Iruka answered hesitantly, still unsure of whether or not to trust this woman.

"Good, that means I'm in the right place. My name is Amaterasu, and I was asked by your Hokage to watch over the students with you." she said. Some of the teachers relaxed, but others were still suspicious. Iruka was one of them.

"Do you have any sort of proof?" he asked.

"Not really. You'll just have to trust me. I would sooner slit my throat than allow any harm to come to these children, though." she said, sitting down in a meditative position.

"All right, I'll trust you, for now." he said, going back to watching the students.

Konoha Wall (one hour later)

Susanoo pulled his katana out of the chest of the fallen Oto nin, wiping the blood off before sheathing it. He turned to see the Anbu team that he had run into an hour ago. They had decided to follow him, he guessed to examine whether or not he was a threat. He walked towards them, seeing as all of the Oto nin were either dead, or captive. None were able to escape, due largely in part to him frying a great deal of them with a well placed lightning bolt.

"Still don't trust me?" he questioned Yugao.

"I can tell you're not a threat, at least not now." she said.

"That's good. Now then, I wonder where Imouto and her little boyfriend are…"he said, looking around, "Well, I guess I better find them. See you later, Neko-chan." he said, teleporting away, leaving a flustered Anbu alone with her team.

Hokage Mountain (Cavern)

Amaterasu stood up from her meditative position. "The invasion is over." she stated, making Iruka look at her.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Simple. My Otouto has stopped using his powers. The only reason for that is he's bored, or there's no one left to use them on. I'm betting more on the latter, as he never get's bored during a battle. I guess I'd better go look for Imouto and her little boyfriend, what was his name… Oh! Naruto." she said.

"You know Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Yes. He's my Imouto's friend. How do you know him?" she asked.

"I was his teacher when he was at the academy. He's like my little brother." he stated.

"Interesting. Well, I guess that means we'll see more of each other, then." she said, before vanishing in a column of fire, not noticing the light blush on Iruka's face.

Rooftop

Naruto and Tsukuyomi were sitting on a rooftop overlooking the village. They had contributed a great deal to repelling the invasion, defeating a great deal of Oto nin. They were currently relaxing, seeing as the invasion was over. They turned around, hearing a crackling sound. They saw a lightning bolt come down behind them, and Susanoo emerged from it.

"Looks like the invasion's over." he said. The two merely nodded. A column of fire appeared next to Susanoo, and Amaterasu was next to him.

"There you two are. I take it the invasion's over?" she asked, getting nods from all three.

"So what happens now?" Naruto asked.

"For now, just relax. You've worked hard today, Gaki. We'll deal with everything later. For now, rest." Susanoo said, seeing how tired Naruto was. It wasn't much later that Naruto fell asleep, his head falling right in Tsukuyomi's lap. Said girl merely shifted his body so that he'd be more comfortable. Her siblings smiled at the sight.

"This search is going to take a lot of time." Amaterasu said, looking at Susanoo.

"Yeah, but at least it'll be interesting." Susanoo said, looking down at the two children. Amaterasu smiled.

"Interesting, indeed…" she agreed. Tsukuyomi looked down at Naruto's sleeping form. She smiled. '_At least we'll have help_'

**And done! I know most of you were probably hoping for another update for Shinigami ninja, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I think I'm being fairly obvious about the pairings, but hey, that's how it came out when I wrote it.**

**Gekimayu- Super bushy brows**

**I'm probably going to release another chapter of Shinigami ninja next, so look forward to that!**

**Like I said above, tell me what you think! I NEED criticism on this one, so review! The more you review, the faster I write, so if you want me to release chapters faster, review!**

**Forever in the Sky,**

**The Red Star**


	2. Forging Connections

**Hello readers! (Dodges various thrown objects) I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've been experimenting with story ideas, writing storyboards, and working on original stories instead of working on the stories I've already got up. But, I'm back, and better than ever! So, I humbly present you with the new chapter of Maelstrom of the Gods!**

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

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* * *

**

Amaterasu and Sarutobi walked into the council chambers. Seated in the chamber were the clan heads, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura.

"Sarutobi, we are so pleased to see that you survived." Danzo said.

"Indeed." Hiashi said.

"Who's that woman behind you, Sarutobi?" Homura asked.

"I am Amaterasu." Amaterasu answered.

"Like the goddess?" Inoichi asked.

"No. I _am_ Amaterasu." she said, punctuating her words with a blast of heat. The council members gulped.

"So, you're the real goddess Amaterasu?" Choza asked. Amaterasu nodded.

"Yes. My siblings would have come as well, but my Otouto has a habit of killing people he doesn't like, and my Imouto is busy helping Naruto."

"Naruto?" Tsume said.

"Yes. Naruto Uzumaki. Tell me, why are you all hiding his true heritage from him?" at that question, the elders eyes widened, while the clan heads looked confused.

"What heritage?" Choza asked again.

"His parents. Am I really the only one who notices the resemblance?" she said, holding up a picture of the Yondaime Hokage. "Take away the whiskers, and you've got a mini- Minato."

"Yondaime-sama was Naruto's father?" Inoichi said.

"Obviously. So, I take it none of you knew?" getting nods from all of the clan heads, she turned to the elders.

"It's obvious that you three knew. Sarutobi has already told me why _he_ withheld Naruto's heritage, and, though I don't agree with him, I understand why. So, why did you lie to him?" she asked, glaring at Danzo.

"It was to protect-" Koharu started, only to be cut off by Amaterasu.

"Protect him from what? Iwa? There is no way they would risk _another _war with Konoha just to get revenge on the Yondaime. Even now, they're still not at 100% functionality. There's no way they'd be capable of infiltrating the village, killing Naruto, and getting out without you knowing. Logically, it makes no sense. So don't try that. Tell the truth, and if you lie to me again, I will _roast_ you." Amaterasu stated, ending it with a glare. The elders gulped. Sarutobi spoke up.

"Well? Answer her." he said, glaring at them as well.

"It was to turn him into a weapon. In time, we would have turned him into Konoha's loyal demon, willing to die to protect us." Danzo said, not showing an ounce of remorse.

"More and more, I wonder why Izanagi-sama bothered to make such despicable creatures." Amaterasu said to herself, shaking her head. "Anyway, I think that you three should step down. You are no longer thinking in the best interest of Konoha."

"Step down? You cannot make us step down!" Homura shouted. Amaterasu shook her head.

"Maybe not, but I _can_ annihilate you, and make sure that your soul suffers for all time. Pick one." Amaterasu said, her hands becoming surrounded with flames. Homura and Koharu gulped, then got out of their seats. Danzo, however, made no effort to move.

"You kill me, and Konoha will execute you." he said confidently. Amaterasu rolled her eyes.

"You honestly believe that? Konoha has no authority over myself or my siblings. We are a higher power. You are beneath us. You have five seconds. Make your choice." Danzo did not move. Amaterasu instantly set him on fire. His screams of pain echoed through the chamber. Not ten seconds later, there was nothing but ash remaining. "Your power is now unobstructed, Sarutobi." Sarutobi smiled.

"Thank you for your assistance, Amaterasu-sama. Tsukuyomi-sama is showing Naruto to his new living quarters, yes?" he asked, sitting in his chair.

"Yes. It was quite interesting watching him bounce around when we told him of his heritage." Amaterasu answered, giggling. True to her words, Naruto had indeed jumped around his apartment with Tsukuyomi when Amaterasu had told him who his parents were. Tsukuyomi was currently showing Naruto around his family's house. It was large, though not enormous. Susanoo, well, Amaterasu wasn't exactly sure _what_ he was doing.

"Good. From now on, Naruto will be known as his family intended. Naruto _Namikaze_. Any objections?" not one of the council members raised their hands. "Good. I'll make the announcement later. Now then, we should discuss our efforts to restore the village…"

Namikaze House

Tsukuyomi giggled as she watched Naruto jump around the house, examining every inch of it. Amaterasu had told her to help him where help was needed while she went with Sarutobi. She didn't know what Susanoo was doing. She just hoped he wasn't doing anything too destructive.

"Naruto-kun, it's been an hour, I think you've explored the house enough." she said, making him stop in his frantic exploration.

"I know, I'm just so excited! Your Nii-san's gonna train me, I'm the Yondaime's son, and I beat Gaara! I feel amazing!" he said excitedly. Tsukuyomi giggled again.

"You're so funny, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks, Tsukuyomi-chan!" Naruto said, grinning. Suddenly, Susanoo walked into the room and sat across from Tsukuyomi, looking bored.

"Where have you been, Nii-san?" Tsukuyomi questioned. Susanoo sighed deeply, slouching into the sofa.

"Just checking out the village. It's so _boring_, Imouto." Susanoo said, sliding out of the sofa.

"Why don't you bring down Kushinada?" Tsukuyomi asked, making Susanoo jump out of his seat, now smiling brightly.

"Great idea, Imouto! Be back in a bit!" he said, already dashing out of the house.

"What's got him so excited?" Naruto asked, sitting on the sofa.

"He was complaining he was bored, so I suggested he bring his first wife down here."

"How would that stop him from being bored? And what do you mean 'first wife'?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Nii-san has to have more than one wife, as there aren't many of us left. Kushinada became his wife as his 'reward' for killing the Yamata no Orochi. The two of them are quite smitten with each other, and she is good friends with Nee-san." Tsukuyomi explained. Naruto nodded. Tsukuyomi then heard an enormous growl. She turned to where it came from, and saw Naruto sheepishly rubbing his head, blushing.

"Hungry?" she asked, smiling lightly.

"Starving. You?" he asked. Tsukuyomi nodded.

"You know any good places to eat?" she asked. Naruto grinned.

"I know just the place!" he grabbed Tsukuyomi's hand and dashed out the door with the little goddess in tow.

Ichiraku's Ramen Bar

Tsukuyomi raised a brow at where Naruto took her to. "Ramen?" she asked.

"Yup! It's the best food in the world!" Naruto proudly exclaimed. Tsukuyomi giggled. She seemed to do that a lot around Naruto…

"Sure, Naruto-kun." they walked into the stand and sat down at the bar. Ayame quickly dashed up.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, who's this? Your girlfriend?" Ayame asked upon seeing Tsukuyomi. Both she and Naruto both blushed brightly. Naruto, not sure what to say, looked at Tsukuyomi. She was looking right back at him expectantly.

"I, uh…" Ayame giggled.

"I'm kidding, Naruto-kun. The usual?" Ayame asked. Naruto nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief. "And what about you?" Ayame asked Tsukuyomi.

"Miso ramen, please." she told Ayame. Ayame nodded and headed to the back to give her father the orders.

* * *

Susanoo headed to the wall around the village. He then vanished in a bolt of lightning. When he reappeared, he was no longer in Konoha. Instead, he was inside a mansion. He looked around with a small smile on his face.

"It's good to be home…" he said to himself. He headed to the bedroom and saw a beautiful black haired woman asleep in the bed. Susanoo grinned when she rolled onto her back. He walked over to the edge of the bed and leaned down. He moved the hair out of her face and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. The woman's eyes opened slowly, and she then closed them, wrapping her arms around Susanoo's neck. Susanoo deepened the kiss, now on top of the woman. Said woman moaned into the kiss, her hands moving around inside the upper portion of his kimono, feeling his muscles. Susanoo in turn had his hands on her breasts, fondling them. After a few more minutes of groping each other, they separated. Susanoo smiled.

"Morning, hime." he said. The woman pecked his lips.

"Welcome back, Susanoo-kun." she said, Susanoo moving back to the edge of the bed, allowing her to sit up, revealing she was naked. "Were you able to find your treasures?"

"We found the Kusanagi. No luck on the others yet."

"Then why are you here?"

"I've come for you. We've found a place we can use as a base, as well as people who can help us. The only problem is, we have to be patient. As you know, I'm not very good at that." the woman giggled, nodding her head, "So, Imouto suggested I bring you down. Also, I've found a human worthy of training." Kushinada's eyes widened.

"You found a human you deem worthy? What's so special about him?" she asked.

"Two things: Imouto's got a crush on him, and he holds within him the Kyuubi." Susanoo replied.

"The Kyuubi? Isn't he one of your creations?" Kushinada asked. Susanoo nodded.

"Yeah, but he got sealed into this boy by the boy's father to protect his village. We think we may be able to free him, or at least enable the boy to gain his powers." Kushinada nodded, then smiled.

"So Tsukuyomi has a crush?" Susanoo grinned.

"You're gonna tease her, aren't you?" he asked. He got a grin as his answer. "Alright, then, you might wanna get dressed, as much as I like seeing you naked." Kushinada got out from under the covers and headed towards the closet, Susanoo slapping her ass as she stood up. She responded by walking to the closet shaking her hips. Susanoo smirked. "Tease."

Kushinada came out of the closet wearing a beautiful red kimono decorated with thunder clouds. She walked over towards Susanoo and hugged him.

"It's really good to see you again, Koi." She said, her voice slightly muffled by his chest. He pulled her head back and kissed her forehead.

"Same here, Koishii." he replied, hugging her back. They vanished in a bolt of lightning.

* * *

Amaterasu sighed as she walked through the village. They had already begun reconstruction of the village, so the streets were very busy. When Amaterasu walked by, though, every man on the street stopped what they were doing to stare at her. '_Good thing Otouto isn't here, he'd cut these guys to ribbons…_' she then sensed Tsukuyomi's energy at a ramen stand. '_Why is she there?_' she approached the ramen stand, and upon entering, saw her sister and Naruto talking to the man she met under the Hokage mountain. '_Iruka, I think._' Tsukuyomi turned and saw her sister.

"Nee-san, what are you doing here?" Tsukuyomi asked, drawing the men's attention. Iruka blushed when he saw her.

"I sensed your energy here, and was curious as to why you'd be here. I'm guessing Naruto's idea?" Tsukuyomi nodded. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Amaterasu smiled slightly and sat down next to Iruka. "Miso Ramen, please." she turned towards Iruka. "Iruka, yes?"

"Y-Yeah." Iruka replied, blushing. Amaterasu smiled.

"It is nice to see you again." she said.

"S-Same here" he replied. '_Dammit, stop stuttering! She's just a woman! A beautiful woman that can make you spontaneously combust…_'

"Is something wrong? Your face is red." Amaterasu noted, touching his forehead, making him turn so red it could put Hinata to shame. Tsukuyomi smiled widely seeing the two interact. She nudged Naruto lightly, bringing his attention to her.

"I think your sensei likes my Nee-san." Tsukuyomi whispered.

"What makes you think that?" Naruto whispered back. Tsukuyomi rolled her eyes. '_Even if he isn't stupid, he's still oblivious._' she thought.

"Your sensei's acting the way most people do around someone they really like." Tsukuyomi explained.

"Oh. So what should we do?" Naruto asked. They then heard a crackling sound outside the stand, followed by a bright flash of light. They all looked outside and saw Susanoo walk into the stand holding the hand of a black-haired woman.

"Hey, guys. Naruto, this is Kushinada, my wife." Susanoo introduced. Kushinada bowed to Naruto.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-san, Susanoo-kun has told me much about you." Kushinada then looked at Iruka. "And who might you be?"

"This is Iruka." Amaterasu introduced. Iruka stood up and bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kushinada-sama." Iruka said formally, causing Kushinada to shake her hands at him.

"There is no need to be so formal with me. My status isn't as lofty as Susanoo-kun's."

"You're still his wife, though, Kushinada-chan, people will respect you for it." Amaterasu stated. Kushinada nodded in response.

"There you are, Gaki! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Jiraiya said, walking into the shop. He then looked at Amaterasu, then Kushinada, and began to giggle perversely. He _would_ have done more, but Susanoo drop kicked him out of the shop, muttering about "damn old perverts". Naruto looked towards where the toad sage landed.

"Wonder what he wanted me for…" he wondered aloud. Tsukuyomi jumped off of her stool and grabbed Naruto's hand.

"Only one way to find out!" she said. The two of them headed after Jiraiya. Susanoo and Kushinada sat down on the stools that Tsukuyomi and Naruto had recently vacated.

"So, he your boyfriend?" Susanoo asked Amaterasu, pointing at Iruka, who blushed.

"Not yet." Amaterasu replied.

"Yet?" Kushinada asked.

"Y-Yet?" Iruka repeated. Amaterasu smiled.

"I like you, Iruka-kun. You're a very kind man, and I'd like to know you better." Amaterasu stated, looking Iruka directly in the eyes. Iruka blushed harder.

"If your face gets any redder, your head'll explode." Susanoo commented. Kushinada elbowed him in the ribs in response. She then stood up, dragging him with her.

"We'll leave you two alone. Susanoo-kun is going to show me around the village." Kushinada told Amaterasu, who smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to her. Kushinada smiled back and dragged her husband out of the stand, in spite of his protests. Amaterasu turned back towards Iruka, who was still blushing.

"Well, judging from the fact that you're still blushing, I'm guessing you have a crush on me." Amaterasu stated, causing Iruka's eyes to lock onto her. She followed her statement with a light kiss on Iruka's cheek. "Lucky for you, it's mutual." she said with a smile, causing Iruka to smile back.

"Guess I am lucky." he responded. The new couple exited the stand after paying for their ramen.

* * *

"Wow, your Nii-san kicked the pervert halfway across the village." Naruto commented, looking at the unconscious Jiraiya. Tsukuyomi poked the pervert.

"How are we going to wake him up?" She asked. Naruto grinned.

"Hey, ero-sennin! Look at that girl over there!" Naruto shouted into the pervert's ear, who bolted up at the mention of a girl.

"Where! Where!" Jiraiya looked around. Tsukuyomi rolled her eyes.

"Is he always like this?" she asked. Naruto nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes… What did you want to talk to me about, ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.

"Sensei's got a mission for you and me."

"A mission? Why you and me?" Naruto asked.

"Sensei's getting older. This invasion made him realize how weak he's become, so he's retiring. The only person capable of replacing him, however, isn't in the village right now, so we're going to find her."

"Her? Who exactly are we going to be looking for?"

"The last of the Sannin, Tsunade Senju." Jiraiya stated.

"So she's as old as you?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya face-faulted.

"I'm not old, Gaki!" Jiraiya shouted. Naruto waved him off.

"Whatever, ero-sennin. So when do we leave?"

"Yeah, when do we leave?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"Look, I know you're Naruto's friend, but I can't endanger you on this mission." Jiraiya said. Tsukuyomi raised a brow.

"Do you have any idea to whom you're speaking, Ningen?" Tsukuyomi questioned. Jiraiya looked confused.

"Tsukuyomi-chan can take care of herself, ero-sennin. She won't need us to protect her. Besides, it's not like this mission is overly dangerous." Naruto commented.

"Fine, fine, whatever. Anyway, grab your gear. We're leaving as soon as possible. Meet me at the gate in 2 hours." Jiraiya said, walking off.

"Hey, Tsukuyomi-chan, why do you want to come with us anyway?" Naruto asked.

"I'd be bored if you left the village without me, Naruto-kun. Besides, someone has to keep _you_ safe." she replied, poking him in the chest. He chuckled as they headed back to his house to pack.

* * *

Kushinada leaned into Susanoo as they looked at the memorial stone. They heard someone approaching behind them. They turned to see a purple haired woman holding flowers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was already here."

"I recognize that voice… Neko-chan?" Susanoo asked.

"Susanoo-san?" Yugao asked. He nodded.

"Who is this, Susanoo-kun?" Kushinada asked her husband.

"She's one of the ANBU I fought alongside during the invasion I told you about." Susanoo explained.

"She _is _quite beautiful." Kushinada stated, looking Yugao up and down. "Hmm… I approve!" Susanoo looked down at her with a shocked face.

"You approve? I barely know her!" he said.

"Not now, Susanoo-kun. Tell me, Yugao-san, who are those flowers for?" Kushinada asked.

"My lover, Hayate Gekko. He was killed by a Suna Nin." Yugao said sadly as she laid the flowers in front of the stone.

"He died in the invasion?" Susanoo asked.

"No, beforehand. He was killed because he had apparently overheard the Suna Nin speaking with an agent from Oto about the invasion." Yugao explained.

"I'm sorry." he said. Kushinada nodded her head. "It's rough, losing someone you love. But at least you're not alone. You have friends, right?"

"Yeah. They've always been there for me…"

"And so will we." Kushinada said with a smile. Yugao looked up at the couple.

"You will?"

"We will?" Susanoo asked. Kushinada looked up at her husband with the 'do as I say' look. He gulped, then nodded. "Yeah, sure we will."

"Thank you." she said. The three of them silently paid their respects to the fallen heroes of Konoha.

* * *

"Finally! You two ready?" Jiraiya asked impatiently, seeing Naruto and Tsukuyomi approach the gate.

"Yeah. Let's get going." Naruto said, walking out of the village, Tsukuyomi right next to him. Jiraiya headed after the two of them. "So, you have any idea where she might be?"

"Knowing Tsunade, she'll be somewhere where there's booze and gambling, her two favorite things." Jiraiya told them. Tsukuyomi looked at Jiraiya.

"And just how many villages have gambling dens and bars?" she asked.

"Most of them…" Jiraiya said, "But I think I know where we can start looking. My spy network reported to me before we left the village about a woman matching Tsunade's description headed towards Tanzaku town. If we're fast enough, we might catch her." Jiraiya explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Lead the way!" Naruto said, and the three of them took off for Tanzaku town. Fast as they were, they were forced to stop at a hotel when nightfall hit. Tsukuyomi made Jiraiya get two rooms, not wanting to share with the pervert. Jiraiya got his own suite, while Naruto and Tsukuyomi shared another. Luckily, in Naruto's opinion anyway, they had separate beds. Tsukuyomi was taking a shower while Naruto was practicing a technique that Jiraiya had begun to teach him as they traveled. He was currently trying to pop a water balloon using only his chakra. He was currently having a bit of difficulty. Tsukuyomi stepped into the room wearing a robe to see Naruto struggling to pop the balloon. She walked over to the ninja.

"Why are you only moving the water in one direction?" she asked. He looked up at her for a moment, then suddenly had a look of realization on his face. He concentrated harder on the balloon, and slowly, multiple bumps appeared on the balloon, and it burst. Naruto grinned widely and hugged the tiny goddess.

"Thanks for the help, Tsukuyomi-chan! You're a genius!" he said, spinning her around. Said goddess was giggling at the blonde's joy. Naruto stopped spinning her around and blushed at how close they were. He quickly released her and began sputtering out apologies. Tsukuyomi put her finger to his lips to shush him. She smiled.

"You don't need to apologize, Naruto-kun. Besides, I liked being in your arms." she said, making Naruto blush.

"I, uh…" Tsukuyomi giggled at Naruto's expression of confusion. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto turned red. "T-Tsukuyomi-chan…"

"I really like you, Naruto-kun. How do you feel about me?" she asked the nervous blonde.

"I, uh, I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, Tsukuyomi-chan. You're smart, pretty, kind, and really strong. I-I really like you, too." Naruto confessed at her urging. She smiled. "So what happens now?"

"I think we should take it slow, Naruto-kun. We should go on a few dates and see where that goes, after this mission is over, of course." Naruto nodded. They heard a knocking on the door. Naruto got up and answered it, with Tsukuyomi getting dressed in the bathroom. He opened the door, expecting to see Jiraiya, but instead was met with two men wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. He looked up and saw that the man in front had Sharingan.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you will come with us." the man stated. Naruto looked back into the room, then shut the door, surprising the two men.

"Itachi, did he seriously just do that?" the fish-like man asked the Uchiha.

"I believe so, Kisame." Itachi clarified. The door suddenly flew open and a burst of energy sent them both back into the wall. Tsukuyomi stepped out of the room, fully dressed. She looked at the men who were standing up and frowned.

"Why are you here?" Tsukuyomi questioned.

"We're here for the Gaki, now get out of the way!" Kisame shouted, swinging his blade at her. A wall of white energy came up and blocked the blow. She dashed forward and thrusted her hand forward, sending Kisame back into the wall. Itachi engaged her in a Taijutsu battle, which he was surprisingly being forced back. '_she's too fast!_' he was sent into the wall once more in the same manner as Kisame. She glared down at the men.

"It would be wise of you to leave. I will not let you capture Naruto-kun. I would rather not kill you, but I will if I must." she said, energy flowing around her. Itachi looked at her, his eyes slowly changing…

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted angrily, seeing his brother for the first time since the destruction of their clan. Itachi looked over at Sasuke, his eyes returning back to the shape of normal Sharingan.

"Sasuke."

"Hey, Itachi, he your little bro?" Kisame asked. Itachi nodded. Naruto sighed.

"Just what we need, _more_ Uchiha." Naruto commented. Tsukuyomi looked between the two brothers, and noticed a small leak of power coming from them. A leak of Kami power.

'_How do they have our energy? Did Nee-san or Nii-san do this?_' she wondered. She, Naruto, and Kisame watched as Itachi pummeled his brother before using an ability on him that shocked Tsukuyomi deeply.

Itachi let his brother slide to the floor as he deactivated the Tsukuyomi Genjutsu. He turned back to his partner and target, and saw the shocked look on Tsukuyomi's face.

"How did you get that power?" Tsukuyomi asked, still shocked. Itachi didn't respond. He was suddenly hit in the stomach by Kisame, thrown at him by Tsukuyomi.

"_How did you get that power? Answer me Ningen!_" Tsukuyomi shouted, her eyes glowing white. She slowly approached them. Kisame swung his sword at her, only for the sword itself to move away from the enraged goddess. The sword left Kisame's grasp, fleeing from Tsukuyomi.

"Where are you going?"

"_The power of a Kami cannot be absorbed by something so inferior. As much as I dislike saying it, we are superior. No Ningen can EVER attempt to match our power, even with power such as yours._" Tsukuyomi explained, now holding Itachi by the throat. "_You called your power the Tsukuyomi. My NAME is Tsukuyomi, Ningen, and you somehow possess a small portion of my power. You think that technique is so powerful, let's see how much you like it after you experience it!_" Tsukuyomi shouted, sending both Itachi and Kisame into the dream realm.

"_Not quite as powerful without the Yata mirror, but it is more than satisfactory._" Tsukuyomi said, looking upon Itachi and Kisame, who were looking around the world that Tsukuyomi had brought them into.

"I thought you said that you would send us into the nightmare realm. This is not that realm, it is too serene." Itachi said.

"_You wield a weak and corrupt version of my power, Itachi. Your own power is insignificant compared to my own. This is the Realm of Dreams, where I hold absolute power. No one's will supersedes my own in this realm. In this realm, I can do anything I wish to you._" Tsukuyomi explained. Suddenly, they were surrounded by multiple dead bodies. Itachi recognized them as Uchiha. They began talking to him, asking him why he did it, screaming as they were killed by him. Itachi then saw his mother, sword sticking out of her, stating that she loved him. Itachi broke down.

Kisame suddenly found himself alone with Tsukuyomi in a white room. He reached for Samehada, only to find it not there. "Where are we, what did you do?" he demanded of Tsukuyomi.

"_This would normally be your greatest fear, regret, or evil deed. You seem to lack the conscience necessary to use this on you. Tell me, Kisame Hoshigaki, why is it you have no guilt for killing your superior and the squad you were sent to protect?_"

"This world is so corrupt. Everyone's living a lie." Kisame stated. Tsukuyomi rolled her eyes.

"_Typical. So typical. And here I thought you had an actual reason. But it turns out you're just another stupid Ningen._" Tsukuyomi stated. Kisame began making hand signs, only to find that he couldn't sense his chakra.

"What the…" he said before Tsukuyomi sent him flying back.

"_This is the Realm of Dreams, remember? I hold absolute power. You have no power in this realm, Ningen._" Tsukuyomi reminded. "_Trying to fight here is futile._"

"Shut up!" Kisame shouted, charging the tiny goddess. She instantly flipped him over onto his back. She put her foot on his throat and looked him in the eyes.

"_You lack the conscience necessary for me to use the Dream Realm on you, so I guess you'll have to suffer through the Nightmare Realm._" Tsukuyomi said before Kisame suddenly found himself in a polar opposite of where he previously was. He looked around and was suddenly slashed at by a katana. He looked up to see his attacker was actually… himself? It was his old self, before he obtained Samehada. Kisame reflexively reached for Samehada, only to find that it wasn't there, a simple katana in it's place. Kisame drew it anyway.

"Let's see if I've improved since then!" Kisame shouted, charging his clone, engaging it in a brutal Kenjutsu battle. Kisame was surprised, however, to find that the clone of him was keeping pace with him, even using moves he himself didn't know! '_That Tsukuyomi chick said that this was the nightmare realm! From what Itachi told me about it, it's up to the wielder what happens in the realm. If this chick is as good as I think she is, I'm screwed!_'

Real World

Naruto was shocked. As soon as Tsukuyomi used that weird power on the duo that tried to capture him, the fish-looking guy had giant gashes appear all over him, while the other appeared to have a mental breakdown. Tsukuyomi looked down at the duo and returned to Naruto's side, her eyes returning to normal.

"Tsukuyomi-chan… what did you do to them?" he asked the tiny goddess.

"I used one of my more powerful techniques against them. They shouldn't be getting up anytime soon."

"So, what should we do with them then?"

"Allow me to handle that, Gaki." Jiraiya said behind them. As he approached the broken enemies, a plant-looking man appeared next to them. He grabbed them and the three of them disappeared into the floor. Tsukuyomi raised a brow, as did Naruto.

"Well, that was weird…" they both commented.

"As strange as that was, you two need to get some sleep. We've got to get moving tomorrow morning." Jiraiya told the young couple. They all returned to their rooms to get some well earned rest.

The Next Day

Naruto, Tsukuyomi, and Jiraiya finally reached Tanzaku town. As they were traveling, Naruto had successfully completed the second stage of the technique Jiraiya was teaching him, and was now attempting the final stage. It was a great deal harder than the first two though, and he was having little success.

Jiraiya headed into a gambling den and, after a small bet, found that Tsunade was indeed still here. After checking several other gambling dens and bars, they eventually found Tsunade at a bar that also sold food.

"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked her old teammate as the trio sat down. "Who're the Gakis? You taking apprentices again? Though these don't look nearly as powerful as your last one."

"Come on, Tsunade-hime, everyone pales in comparison to the Yondaime. But don't underestimate these two. The boy's powerful in his own right, and the girl is likely more powerful than the Shodaime." Tsunade raised a brow.

"You expect me to believe a 12 year old girl is strong enough to defeat the founder of Konoha?" Tsunade said. Jiraiya nodded.

"Yup. Besides, she's not 12. She's much older than we are, older than sensei, older than the Shodaime."

"No way! That's not possible, Jiraiya!" Tsunade exclaimed in disbelief. Tsukuyomi decided to speak up.

"Maybe not for one of your kind, but I am a higher order of being. I am Tsukuyomi, Megami of the Moon. I am immortal, but choose to remain in this form." Tsunade looked surprised, to say the least.

"You expect me to believe you're _the_ Tsukuyomi?"

"Yes."

"We're getting off track, here, ero-sennin." Naruto commented. Jiraiya nodded.

"Right. Tsunade, you've probably heard about Oto and Suna invading Konoha." seeing her nod, he continued. "Well, Orochimaru was behind it. He masterminded it so that he could kill sensei. He nearly succeeded. It was only Tsukuyomi-sama and her siblings' intervention that spared the village. They saved him and killed Orochimaru, but the fight made him realize how much weaker he's become. He's planning to retire, and there's only one person who can replace him right now. Tsunade, the village requests you return and become Konoha's Godaime Hokage." Jiraiya explained. Tsunade scoffed.

"You _know_ how I feel about that title, Jiraiya. The title of Hokage is a joke. Only a fool would want the title." Tsunade rebuffed. Naruto scowled.

"Hey, my Tou-san laid his life down for Konoha! He was the greatest Hokage Konoha's ever seen!" Naruto shouted at the woman. Tsunade's eyes widened.

"You're…"

"That's right, Tsunade. Naruto here is Minato and Kushina's son." Jiraiya announced. Tsunade's jaw dropped.

"I heard that he was dead…" Tsunade said.

"Obviously I'm not. So are you going to accept the title or not? Decide quickly, please, I have training to get to." Naruto said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"I'm sticking by what I said. The title is a joke." Tsunade repeated. Tsukuyomi glared at her, then stood up and began to walk out of the bar.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jiraiya asked.

"Back to the village. I'll probably be back with my siblings though. You're really deluding yourself if you think you have a choice in coming back to the village. The only reason you're not dubbed a missing-nin is because you have Sannin travel rights, which are well within Sarutobi-san's right to revoke. Those are your options: come back willingly or slung over Jiraiya's shoulder. Decide." Tsukuyomi stated. Naruto nodded.

"So you'd really be willing to fight me, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya nodded.

"The village needs you, Tsunade, and no matter what your personal problems with the village are, you're coming back one way or another. And in spite of how strong you are, even you know that you can't defeat me, Tsunade." Jiraiya stated. Tsunade sighed.

"Looks like I don't have a choice. Fine, I'll come back, but I'm not accepting the title until I talk to sensei!" Tsunade stated. Jiraiya smiled and nodded.

"Great! We'll leave tomorrow. Naruto, you and Tsukuyomi-sama go get us rooms at a hotel." Naruto nodded and left with Tsukuyomi.

"I thought you weren't going to take any more apprentices, Jiraiya." Tsunade said after they left.

"I owe it to him. Him and his parents. Besides, the Gaki's a quick learner. He's almost got the Rasengan down, and I started teaching it to him two days ago. He's got his mother's chakra, and his father's skill. The Gaki's going to be the greatest ninja any of us have ever seen." Jiraiya explained.

"And the girl? Is she _really_ Tsukuyomi?"

"Yeah. Her siblings are still in Konoha, so you'll get to meet them when we get back t the village. Her sister is the one who killed Orochimaru, and she did it with almost no effort. They created the Kyuubi, Tsunade. They're _much_ more powerful than it. If they wanted to, they could wipe out the whole village with a flick of their wrists"

"So, why come to Konoha then?"

"They're looking for their weapons. Someone stole them from them. Orochimaru had the Kusanagi, and that was why he was killed. According to them, stealing from a god is punished by death."

"Wow… a lot's happened since I left, hasn't it?" Tsunade remarked, getting a nod from Jiraiya. "Now, tell me everything you know about what's happened since the girl and her siblings got down here." So Jiraiya began telling Tsunade of how the three gods arrived. He told her about the invasion, and Tsukuyomi's attachment to Naruto. He told her _everything_.

"It's hard to believe that what you're telling me actually happened…"

"Believe it, Tsunade. Her siblings are no laughing matter, and neither is she, for that matter. She scares me more than you did when we were teammates." Jiraiya said seriously.

"Now _that's_ hard to believe, Jiraiya. But I guess I'll take your word for it. It's getting late. We'd better rest up. Got a big day tomorrow, huh?" she said. Jiraiya nodded. Jiraiya went after the two children while Tsunade and Shizune headed to their own hotel room. As Jiraiya passed Naruto and Tsukuyomi's room, he peeked inside and saw them both asleep on Naruto's bed, cuddled close together. He smiled and headed to his own room to get some rest.

'_So the Gaki's got himself a girlfriend. Kami knows he deserves happiness._' Jiraiya thought before he quickly fell asleep.

**And done! I was thinking about covering their trip home as well, but I figured I've made you guys wait long enough. So, tell me what you think, and I'll try to update faster now. Be patient, and keep reading!**

**Forever in the Sky, **

**The Red Star**


	3. First Meeting! Naruto's Frustration!

**Hello, my loyal readers! I'm back! I'm most likely not going to be updating as fast, but I'll be doing my best to not make you wait 4 months for a new chapter. So I've done a double post today of this story and Fox Avatar Remastered. Read and enjoy!**

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

* * *

"Come on Gaki! Only 80 more to go!" Susanoo shouted. He and Naruto were currently in the woods by Naruto's house. They had begun Naruto's training as soon as Naruto had gotten back from his mission to find Tsunade, and Naruto was beginning to think Susanoo was trying to kill him.

"That's easy for you to say," Naruto grunted out, "You don't have a fucking _boulder_ on your back!"

"Remember who you're talking to, kid! I train this way with _mountains_, so I'm going easy on you as it is. 70 more! Keep at it!" Susanoo ordered. Not far from the training area, Tsukuyomi and Kushinada were watching their men train.

"I'm surprised Susanoo-kun is holding back this much." Kushinada commented.

"It's most likely because he knows I'd be forced to kill him if he killed Naruto." Tsukuyomi replied. Naruto and Tsukuyomi had become a couple upon their return to Konoha, something Tsukuyomi's siblings teased them relentlessly for.

"True, true. Where's Nee-san?" Kushinada asked.

"She's with Iruka-san." Tsukuyomi replied with a slight giggle. Amaterasu had begun dating the Chunin soon after Naruto and Tsukuyomi left. They were an interesting couple, to say the least. Amaterasu seemed cool-headed, but when she was with those she considered close, she was a rather passionate woman. Not to the point of breaking her cool-headed persona, but she was rather… _fiery_. Iruka discovered this rather quickly and, according to him, it only made him like her more.

"40 more, Gaki!" Susanoo shouted at the young boy. He was rather enjoying tormenting Naruto this way. It served the purpose of strengthening him, while simultaneously allowing Susanoo to mess with him. This was also showing Susanoo just how resilient Naruto really was.

"10... more…" Naruto grunted out.

"Done!" Susanoo shouted, kicking the boulder off of Naruto's back. Naruto collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Uh oh. Imouto, your boyfriend's lost consciousness!" he shouted out, poking Naruto's unmoving form with his foot. In an instant, Tsukuyomi was by Naruto's side, placing his head in her lap, affectionately running her fingers through his hair. "Take care of him, Imouto. Kushinada-chan and I have someone to go see." Tsukuyomi nodded absently, staring at Naruto's sleeping face. Susanoo approached his wife, who was smiling at the young couple. "Come on, Koishii, we promised Yugao we'd be there, remember?" he reminded. Kushinada nodded, hopping off of her seat and grasping his hand. They headed into the village, leaving Naruto and Tsukuyomi alone.

With Amaterasu

Amaterasu watched with a smile on her face as Iruka scolded three shinobi hopefuls that called themselves the Konohamaru corps. She often stopped by after academy hours to see Iruka, and he was frequently scolding them for something. She had found out that the trio considered Naruto their "boss", as they put it.

"Now, go on home, you three." Iruka sighed, dismissing the young students. He turned to see Amaterasu sitting on the corner of his desk with a smile on her face. "What?"

"You're really good with children, Iruka-kun." Amaterasu commented.

"I've been a teacher for a long time, Amaterasu." he responded. Amaterasu hopped off of his desk and walked over to him.

"Now that class is over, what do you want to do?" she asked, looping her arms around his neck. Iruka smiled at his girlfriend, pulling her close to him.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." he replied before kissing her.

With Susanoo and Kushinada

Kushinada and Susanoo arrived at a dango stand to see four women sitting at a table speaking. One of them was Yugao. The other three were her best friends, Anko Mitarashi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Hana Inuzuka. Anko saw them approaching and waved them over with a wide grin on her face.

"Feeling any better, Neko-chan?" Susanoo asked as he and Kushinada sat at the table. Yugao smiled at the kami.

"Yes, thanks to all of you guys." she responded. Anko, Hana, and Susanoo grinned while Kurenai and Kushinada smiled.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Kushinada said. Yugao smiled and nodded.

"Hey, Susanoo-kun, I heard you've been training the blonde Gaki." Anko asked. Susanoo nodded with a smirk.

"Yeah. He's a fast learner." he stated.

"Really?" Hana asked, "From what my otouto said, Naruto wasn't a very good student when he was in the academy." Susanoo nodded again.

"True, but the academy only teaches conventionally. That's why people with the potential to be truly powerful, like Naruto, are overlooked in favor of students that already show promise, but don't have nearly as much potential, like Sasuke. If Naruto had a proper sensei during the academy, he'd have passed the Chunin exam when he was ten." Susanoo stated, shocking all present, save for Kushinada.

"He has that much raw talent?" Kurenai asked, getting another nod from Susanoo in response.

"Yes. That kid will be the strongest being this village has seen since the Shodai Hokage."

With Tsukuyomi and Naruto

Naruto opened his eyes to be greeted with the sight of his girlfriend smiling down at him.

"Hey." he greeted, feeling the fatigue from the training.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." she responded, continuing to run her fingers through his hair. Naruto attempted to get up and look around, only to have Tsukuyomi pin him to the ground, holding his head in her lap. "You need to rest." she stated in a scolding matter.

"Yes, ma'am." Naruto grumbled out, making her giggle.

"Good boy." she replied, patting him on the head.

"Where's Susanoo-sensei and Kushinada-chan?"

"They went to be with their friends. Nii-san said you were done training for today." she answered.

"But it's still light out!" Naruto protested, "I can't sit still for that long, Tsukuyomi-chan!" he stated, gaining another giggle from the diminutive goddess.

"I'm sure we can think of something to do, Naruto-kun." she stated before Naruto's stomach let out a mighty rumble. "Like maybe get some food." she stated afterwards. Naruto chuckled before shakily getting to his feet, Tsukuyomi helping him as he did.

"Ichiraku's?" he asked hopefully. Tsukuyomi smiled.

"Sure, Naruto-kun." she helped the blonde up and they were instantly consumed by a white light.

Back with Kushinada and Susanoo

"So how did you two get together anyway?" Anko suddenly asked the two kamis.

"I was given to him in return for him slaying the Yamata-no-Orochi." Kushinada answered.

"So you were his reward?" Kurenai stated, her face scrunching up at the thought.

"Not in the manner you're thinking, Kurenai-dono." Susanoo said. "I have never thought of my Tenshi as a mere reward." he said, lovingly stroking Kushinada's face.

"Then how did you get together?" Anko asked again. Kushinada smiled at her friend.

"Alright Anko. I'll tell you. It all started with me finding this handsome man over here…" she began.

Flashback

Kushinada was seated in her favorite flower field, gathering flowers for her parents. Today was the anniversary of the day her seven sisters were devoured by the Yamata-no-Orochi. The flowers were for their mourning shrines. She plucked the first flower and heard a loud thud behind her, followed by a groan. She turned around to see the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had long black hair tied back into a loose ponytail. His face was angled, his chin defined, with a noticeable layer of stubble. He was clad in white hakama and a deep red haori. His chest was exposed, revealing his muscled physique. Attached to his obi by a cord was a sake bottle, a katana on the opposite side. He was currently on his back, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Damn… She didn't have to kick me out…" he mumbled, not seeming to notice her.

"Who are you?" she hesitantly inquired, instantly drawing his attention to her.

"Susanoo." he replied disinterestedly, thoroughly shocking Kushinada. She rapidly stood up and bowed lowly.

"S-Susanoo-sama! I apologize for not recognizing you!" she said, fearing his wrath. The Kami of Storms was known for his furious temper. She kept her head low, not daring to meet his eyes, or even gaze at his form. She heard nothing briefly before she heard him move. She felt a hand slowly run through her raven black hair before moving down to rest at her chin. He lifted her head back up, her body coming with it, forcing her to meet his dark eyes. On his face was a benevolent smile.

"You have no reason to fear me, young Ningen. I do not strike down mortals without reason." he said, slightly calming her. He studied her face. Without the fear in her eyes, she was quite beautiful. Her raven hair framed her heart shaped face perfectly. Her vibrant green eyes shone with a hint of amazement at coming face to face with a Kami. Her ivory skin seemed to glow. If he didn't know otherwise, he would think her to be a Megami. "What is a beautiful young Ningen such as yourself doing in this forest? Are you not aware of the Ayakashi in this forest?"

"My lord, the Ayakashi fled the forest when the Yamata-no-Orochi appeared here. There are no beings left in this forest." she explained, her heart sinking as the memories of her sisters resurfaced at the mention of the demonic serpent. Susanoo studied her features briefly before nodding to himself.

"You have suffered at the hands of this Orochi, have you not?" at her hesitant nod, he asked, "I presume you lost a loved one?"

"I lost my sisters. In the past seven years, it has devoured one of them each year, always on the same day. Today it will arrive for me." she answered glumly. Susanoo looked to the sky with a frown.

"More and more I question your wisdom, Izanagi-sama…" he said. He looked back at the girl. "The Yamata-no-Orochi is a fearsome creature indeed. Tell me, do you fear death?" he asked, leaning closer to the girl.

"I am but a simple Ningen, my lord. Whether I fear it or not, it will eventually claim me. I do not want to meet the end of my days at the hand of the great serpent." she responded. Susanoo smiled.

"A wise answer. Naïve, but wise." he responded. "You are the last child of your parents, yes?" at her nod, he continued, "It is never a good thing for a parent to bury their child. I cannot resurrect the dead, but I can prevent their loss of you." he said, making her eyes widen.

"Y-You will fight the serpent?" she asked. "Forgive me, my lord, but what reason would cause you to fight for the sake of a mere mortal such as myself?" Susanoo smiled, lightly caressing her cheek, making her blush.

"Beauty such as yours should not be squandered as a sacrifice to a creature." he responded lowly. Her blush deepened at his tone. He chuckled at her flustered appearance. "Can you take me to your home?" he asked. Kushinada stood up immediately and nodded.

"Hai, Susanoo-sama."

Kushinada led the Kami to her home, where she was met by her parents, who were absolutely shocked at seeing Susanoo. He quickly filled them in on why he was there.

"Is there anything we can do to repay you, my lord?" her father asked. Susanoo adopted a thinking posture briefly before snapping his fingers and pulling the sake bottle off of his obi. He tossed it to the man.

"Fill that up for me." he said. The man nodded and rushed off, saying something about his best stock.

"S-Surely there is more we can do for you, my lord. With all due respect, do you honestly expect us to believe that you would slay the great serpent for a single bottle of sake?" her mother asked.

"I'm not doing it for the sake. I honestly don't know myself why I'm doing this." he said. Kushinada's father sped back into the room and handed Susanoo the bottle.

"I have filled it with the best liquor in my possession, my lord." he said. Susanoo nodded to the man, reattaching the bottle to his obi. He then headed to the door.

"Whatever you do, do not leave the proximity of this shrine. Its aura will keep you safe." he ordered as rain clouds began to blanket the skies. The roar of Orochi was heard in the distance. "This is where the fun begins." he said, a grin forming on his face as he drew his blade. The sword seemed to gleam in delight as rain cascaded down its blade. Lightning streaked across the sky as the Yamata-no-Orochi slithered over the mountainside. It looked over at Kushinada, who was peering out from behind Susanoo and roared. Susanoo's grip on his blade tightened. Thunderclaps roared out, overpowering the serpent's great roar. Susanoo stepped forward, but felt a hand gripping his robe. He turned to see Kushinada, a worried look on her face.

"A-Are you sure you'll be alright, my lord? N-Not to disrespect your stre-mmph!" she was cut off as Susanoo pulled her into a soul-searing kiss. After a brief moment of shock, she began to return his affections, much to the shock of her parents, whose jaws had hit the floor at the kiss. Susanoo pulled away slightly, placing his forehead against hers.

"Have faith in me, my dear. So long as you believe in me, I cannot lose." he said, his breath hitting her lips. She laid a faint peck on his lips before stepping back.

"I will, Susanoo-sama." he stepped away from the shrine and turned to face the beast. "Hello, Orochi. Your slayer has arrived." he shouted, jumping into the air, soaring towards the beast. It immediately sent four of it's heads after him. Moments before they reached him, however, four lightning bolts descended from the sky, striking the heads, paralyzing them. Susanoo immediately severed two of the heads, causing Orochi to shriek out in pain. Not missing a beat, he sped forward, intent on severing the other two, only to have three more heads snap at him. He deftly dodged the first two and stabbed his blade through the bottom of the mouth of the third. Twisting the blade, he sped towards the rest of its body, dragging his sword along the length of the head. As he reached the juncture of the area connecting the heads to the bodies, he twisted the blade, severing that head as well.

"That's three." he counted. The beast roared at the Kami, sending all of it's remaining heads after him. He smirked. He hefted his sword over his head, firmly gripping it with both hands. An enormous thunderclap sounded, its booming noise serving to actually disorient the great serpent. An enormous bolt of energy shot from the sword, flying into the clouds above them. The clouds suddenly began to fuse into one enormous cloud flying over them. "I doubt fried snake will taste good, but oh well…" Susanoo said before tossing his sword into the air. A lightning bolt erupted from the cloud, lighting up the night sky across Japan. It shot straight at the blade, being absorbed by the metal. Susanoo jumped up after it, gripping the handle once more. All of the electricity funneled into the blade, shining like the sun. Susanoo paused briefly, gazing down at Kushinada. She was looking up at him with complete faith painted on her face. He smiled at her before dive-bombing the blinded serpent. He stabbed the blade into the body of the great serpent with a booming roar. The lightning bolt absorbed into the blade was released within the serpent. What resulted was a rather gruesome sight.

The serpent's scales were completely charred. What remained of them, anyway. The heat was so immense, the eyes of each head had completely melted, leaving empty sockets. Most of its scales were burned off, leaving bare muscle. Any blood that would have shown had completely evaporated, leaving it to already appear partially decomposed. Susanoo pulled his blade free of the corpse. He gazed upon the remains of the creature, a look of disappointment on his face. He suddenly heard a cracking sound behind him. He turned to see the charred scales of one of the tails cracking. He moved closer to the tail, leaning down to examine it. It suddenly split open, one of the scales hitting him in the face. He looked at the tail and immediately saw an object within it. He attempted to retrieve it, only to find that the electric charge had fused it with the corpse. He stabbed his blade into the tail, cutting the object free. He reached in to retrieve it, this time succeeding in pulling it out.

"A sword…" he said in curiosity. The blade was quite elegant-looking, glimmering in the rain. The guard was rectangular, with two smaller rectangles next to the blade inside the guard. The handle was white, with gold beneath the wrapping. He sheathed his own blade and hefted the new blade onto his shoulder. He looked up at the sky briefly before beginning to make his way back to the shrine, the weather instantly clearing up as he did so. As soon as he landed, Kushinada immediately ran up to him and tightly embraced the Kami.

"Y-You did it!" she said joyously. Susanoo smirked.

"Was there ever a doubt that I would?" he said. She smiled at him in response. He looked over at the shrine and saw her parents hesitantly moving closer to them.

"Thank you so much, my lord. We are forever in your debt." her father said, bowing to the Kami.

"There must be _some _way we can repay you, my lord. We simply cannot allow you to have no payment for this great feat." her mother said.

"I have a suggestion." they heard a booming voice say. Kushinada and her parents looked around for its owner, but Susanoo simply turned his head to the right, meeting eyes with said owner.

"Izanagi-sama." he said, garnering the humans' attention. They were stunned by the Kami patriarch's appearance. He appeared to be a middle aged man, with shoulder length black hair and midnight black eyes. He sported a shaggy beard and mustache, both also black. He was wearing a rust orange regal kimono with wave patterns on it. In his right hand was a long naginata. "I thought Amaterasu kicked me out." Susanoo stated. Izanagi nodded.

"She did. However, Tsukuyomi has calmed her down somewhat. I believe if you have a peace offering, she will forgive you."

"I have this…" Susanoo replied, holding up the sword, a disinterested look on his face.

"It seems to be a fine blade indeed." Izanagi stated, looking at the sword with an appraising eye. "Yes, this may have power to rival the Totsuka blade you carry. Does it have a name?" he asked. Susanoo briefly adopted a thinking expression.

"How about the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi?" he offered. Izanagi nodded. "Now, you said you had a solution to this payment problem?"

"Indeed, and it would solve more than one problem at once. Take the girl." he stated. Kushinada blushed, her parents were shocked beyond belief, and Susanoo was currently looking at Izanagi as if he had just grown a second head.

"Are you insane?" he asked.

"It would solve a great many problems, my son. This girl obviously has affections for you, as you do for her. What greater honor is there for her parents than to have their daughter marry a Kami?"

"You're saying I should take her as my wife as my payment for killing the damned serpent? Have you lost your mind?" Susanoo shouted.

"Is the idea that repulsive to you?"

"Well, no, but…"

"You have feelings for this Ningen, yes?"

"I do, but-"

"Then what is the problem?"

"I'm not kidnapping my bride!"

"Then ask for her hand." Izanagi stated. Susanoo stared at him, not expecting that response. He looked back at Kushinada, who was blushing brightly. He briefly turned back to Izanagi, muttering "I hate you" over and over. Izanagi smirked before vanishing in a column of light. Susanoo approached the stunned family with a neutral look on his face.

"Look, I know that you both love your daughter very much, which is why I won't accept her as payment for killing the serpent." he began. Kushinada actually seemed sad. "However, if she wants to come with me back to my home, I will not refuse her." Kushinada looked up at Susanoo, who was smiling now. "It's your decision, Kushinada-chan." he said. Kushinada looked back at her parents, who were smiling.

"Go, Musume." her mother said, "A mother knows. Your heart is with him now." she urged. Kushinada hugged her as her father approached Susanoo.

"Take good care of her, my lord."

"I will, Ashinazuchi. I have a gift for you." he said, placing his hand on her father's shoulder. He felt a surge of power enter him before dissipating. Susanoo walked over to her mother and did it once more.

"What did you do?" Kushinada asked. Susanoo smiled.

"I have bestowed upon them the honor of becoming my earth deities." he responded. Seeing her amazed look, he smiled. "You will not age when you are with me, but your parents would wither and die. I knew this would sadden you, so I have rendered that impossible. They cannot ascend to my realm, but they will be immortal as my subjects." Kushinada hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Susanoo-sama." she said, her voice slightly muffled from his chest. He chuckled, patting her head lightly to get her to look up.

"You're my equal now, hime. You don't need to be so respectful."

"Hai, Susanoo-kun." she responded, a radiant smile on her face. Susanoo turned to her parents.

"Ashinazuchi, your duties are simple. Guard my shrine as you have done throughout your life. We will come down to see you at your daughter's leisure." her parents nodded.

"Hai, Susanoo-sama." Kushinada said goodbye to her parents once more before she was embraced by Susanoo.

"Farewell." he said before they vanished in a bolt of lightning.

End Flashback

"After that, I met all of the other Kamis, and Izanagi-sama granted me Kami status. Susanoo-kun gave Amaterasu the Kusanagi, and that's pretty much it." Kushinada finished.

"Wow…" Anko said.

"So you made her parents immortal?" Yugao asked.

"Yes." Susanoo responded.

"Could you do that to anyone?" she asked.

"Yes, though they must be alive for it to work. Only Izanami-dono can resurrect the dead." Susanoo replied. "I know that you miss him, Yugao-dono, but resurrecting the dead can have harsh consequences, ones that no one can live with. It's best that the dead stay dead." he said. Yugao nodded.

"I understand, I just…"

"You miss him." Kushinada finished. She nodded.

"Just how long ago was that?" Hana asked curiously.

"A long time ago. It was about 80 years before that Rikudo guy showed up." Susanoo stated, making everyone at the table, save for Susanoo and his wife, go wide-eyed.

"You guys have been married that long?" Hana said. Kushinada nodded.

"Hai. The Rikudo Sennin first appeared to the people not long after Izanagi barred us from coming to the Ningen realm."

"Why'd he do that?" Anko asked curiously.

"You don't need to know." Susanoo replied quickly, his voice taking a harsh tone, unnerving the Kunoichi.

"I'm sorry," Kushinada said, "But it's not something we can tell you, okay?" she asked with a smile. The other girls nodded. Anko, noticing the rather gloomy mood, decided to lighten things up.

"So how soon after that did you two do it?" she asked, making Susanoo and Kushinada sputter.

Namikaze home

Naruto was currently having the best day of his life. After getting ramen with his goddess girlfriend, Tsukuyomi decided to teleport them back to Naruto's house. Upon their arrival, she had pinned him to the sofa and begun to make out with him. This had been going on for the past twenty minutes, and Naruto for one didn't really care if it ever stopped.

They were so engrossed in one another that they failed to hear the front door open. Amaterasu walked in, her date with Iruka finished, and immediately caught sight of them. She pondered what she should do before smirking evilly and going into the other room, leaving the young couple to continue their fevered make out session. She returned holding a bucket of water. Moving closer to the couple, she proceeded to dump the bucket onto them, surprising them both. Naruto began to sputter as he saw Amaterasu staring at him, while Tsukuyomi glared at her sister.

"Nee-san!" Tsukuyomi shouted in protest. Amaterasu smiled.

"Yes, Imouto?" she responded.

"We were sort of in the middle of something, Nee-san." Tsukuyomi said.

"I know, Imouto. I felt the need to interrupt." Tsukuyomi continued to glare. Naruto had taken off his jacket, which was sopping wet. Before any conversation could continue, Susanoo and Kushinada came in. upon seeing them, Susanoo raised a brow.

"Why are Imouto and my student wet?" he looked over at Amaterasu. Seeing the bucket still in her hands, he rolled his eyes. "I think you could have done a little better than that, Nee-chan…" Amaterasu shrugged. "Whatever… How are you feeling, Gaki?"

"Better. Still a little sore, though." Naruto responded.

"Good. You've got the rest of today off, but training resumes tomorrow. Look forward to it." he said before going upstairs with Kushinada. Naruto sighed. Susanoo had been "teaching" him since he got back from finding Tsunade. Naruto had yet to learn a single thing. All Susanoo had done is make him do various exercises that would increase his muscles. Naruto failed to see the point. He should be learning new Jutsu, not lifting weights! Tsukuyomi seemed to understand his frustration, but she didn't talk to Susanoo about it. He wondered when he would actually learn something from the warrior god.

"Naruto-kun?" Tsukuyomi said, breaking the blonde from his thoughts. He saw that he and Tsukuyomi were the only ones remaining in the room. "Are you alright?"

"Tsukuyomi-chan, is Susanoo-sensei a good teacher?" he asked.

"He can be a bit rough, but there's always a reason for his methods." Tsukuyomi explained.

"Then why hasn't he taught me anything?" he asked. "The entire time he's been training me, all I've done is make my muscles stronger. When am I gonna learn something that can actually help in a fight?"

"Naruto-kun, you need to have faith in Nii-san. I've known him my entire life, and he's never taken an apprentice that didn't turn out extraordinary." she responded. "I don't think he'd want me to tell you this, but I think it's important. Naruto-kun, the last person who was trained by Susanoo was the Rikudo Sennin himself." Naruto gaped at the diminutive goddess.

"The first shinobi learned from your brother…"

"As you are now. Nii-san always said that to have true power, you first need to be strong enough to not need it. I think Nii-san is making you do all these muscle exercises to make you strong enough to handle whatever it is he's going to teach you. Have faith in him, Naruto-kun, as I have faith in you." she finished, kissing him on the cheek. Naruto smiled, embracing the diminutive goddess. She was right. He just had to be patient.

* * *

**And DONE! Alright, I've got a lot of important reveals in here, but this chapter felt sort of like filler to me. I'm glad it's done, though. Now I can work on a new chapter! As for the flashback & Susanoo and Kushinada's rather quick romance, just remember, things were different then. Consider it love at first sight. Thanks for reading!**

**Forever in the Sky, **

**The Red Star**


	4. Shocking Revelation! Naruto's New Power!

**Greetings my loyal readers! I know, two updates in a month! Don't get used to it. As I've said before, I update when the story is ready, and only then. This will be the last chapter of Maelstrom of the Gods for some time now, so I thought I'd send it off with a bang! This is, by far, the most significant chapter I have ever written! Your head may explode from the sheer amount of important stuff happening in it. **

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

* * *

Naruto glared at his outstretched palm. "Dammit, why isn't it working?" he shouted in anger. Susanoo raised a brow at his apprentice. Naruto had spent the past hour practicing a new technique he called the Rasengan. Susanoo knew he had heard of it somewhere, but couldn't place where he'd heard it. Seeing Naruto about to destroy his hand, he decided to intervene.

"Naruto, maybe I could help if you would just tell me what you're doing?" Susanoo offered.

"Ero-Sennin taught me this. I spin my chakra in my palm in a bunch of different directions and it forms a sphere of chakra that can tear through almost anything." Naruto explained simply. Susanoo blinked. That was… simplified… '_The technique sounds like his namesake, a maelstrom of energy. Heh… maelstrom… looks like I've finally got your element, Naruto…_'

"Alright. Naruto, based off of what I'm seeing, your chakra control isn't really good enough to perform that effectively." he stated, making Naruto look down sadly. He placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder, making him look up. "Don't worry. That will come in time. Just between you and me, my control is worst out of the three of us. In spite of that, I'm still considered the strongest of us." Naruto smiled at the Kami. "Ask Imouto for help on control. She's better at it than me by a long shot." At Naruto's nod, he continued, "Now, I'll bet you've been wondering why I've just had you train your body, right?" another nod. "I'd like to say it was because I had a plan, but it was really just to buy me time."

"What?" Naruto shouted. Time for what?

"I needed time to figure you out. Our Kami abilities are very different from your chakra. The only way for you to be able to use anything I teach you is for you to become a Kami."

"Y-You're gonna make me a Kami?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"If you're intent on being with Imouto, you'll have to become one eventually. You won't be changing any time soon, though. However, I _can_ teach you to harness powers like mine with your chakra. Granted, they won't possess half the power mine do, but they'll still be formidable for any human foe you may have. Tell me, Naruto, how would you like to become the Kami of Wind?"

* * *

Sasuke groaned angrily as he was forced to lay in his bed. Ever since he saw his brother, he had been restless. They were wasting his time with medicine when he needed to be training. As he was now, he couldn't hope to surpass his brother.

Sakura, who had been sitting next to his bed, mistook his groan of anger for one of pain. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. Sasuke turned to her, an angered look clear on his face.

"Why am I here, Sakura?" he asked, his voice a growl.

"Tsunade-sama said you needed your rest. You were really hurt from the attack your brother used on you." at the mention of his brother, Sasuke couldn't help but snarl at the girl, making her jump slightly.

"Find a way to get me released. Do it _now_!" He ordered. Sakura jumped out of her seat and fled the room. Sasuke heard a tap outside his window. He moved outside to see four shinobi obviously not from Konoha standing just outside.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun." the one in the middle-left, a grey haired boy with what appeared to be another head growing out of the back of his neck, greeted.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"We've got an offer for you."

* * *

Naruto huffed as he went through the katas that Susanoo had shown him. According to him, by manipulating his chakra in tandem with the forms, he would be able to perform jutsu by moving, instead of with hand signs. The advantages were obvious, but Naruto couldn't figure out how to do it. Focusing chakra to your limbs was easy enough, but to change the shape and nature of the chakra without hand signs was beyond all but the greatest shinobi.

Susanoo frowned. He wasn't progressing like he'd hoped. The hardest phase of this training was usually memorizing the forms. Naruto had gotten the forms easily. It was the manipulation that was evading him. "Naruto," he called out, stopping his student, "how are you trying to manipulate your chakra?"

"I'm doing it the way we normally do a jutsu, Susanoo-sensei. Why?" Susanoo slapped his head. _That _explained it…

"That's not how it's done, Naruto. You're not trying to create something from your own energy. You're trying to control what's already there. You will never need to create wind, Naruto, as it's all around you. Without air, you would die. Elements like fire or lightning do occasionally need to be created, but air is always around. You simply make it move. Don't internalize the process. Let your chakra flow out of you and merge it with the air. Don't go through the forms the first time you try this. It might make it easier." Tsukuyomi explained. Naruto nodded, closing his eyes and focusing his chakra outward. As it spread around him, Naruto suddenly felt his senses expand. He could smell Ichiraku's halfway across town. He could feel Tsukuyomi's silky hair blowing around her. It was like he had become one with the air itself. It was… _exhilarating_.

Tsukuyomi smiled. Naruto's affinity for wind was astonishing. He had so easily gotten past the block that shinobi were unable to. He was beginning to understand his element. Her smile widened as the wind began to coalesce around her blonde. At that moment, Naruto opened his eyes.

"It's working!" Naruto exclaimed, seeing the wind begin to swirl around him. Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were smiling at the blonde, proud of his accomplishment.

"I'm not sure if it's the Kyuubi or his own natural talent," Susanoo said, gaining Tsukuyomi's attention, "But his progress is amazing. Give him a few years, and he might become the strongest human since my last apprentice."

"Are you sure about that, Otouto?" Amaterasu's voice said behind them. They turned to see their elder sibling walk up to them. "Impressive. Naruto is progressing well under you, Otouto." she commented. Susanoo smirked.

"I know. The Gaki's got real potential." Susanoo stated. Tsukuyomi smiled at Naruto, who was looking over to them.

"That he does." Amaterasu replied, giving Tsukuyomi a gentle nudge towards Naruto. Tsukuyomi took the hint and headed over to her boyfriend.

"How's the search gone?" Susanoo asked. Amaterasu sighed.

"Not much luck. There is no notice of either the Yata-no-Kagami or the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi. The most I've been able to gather is that they are both in the Elemental Nations. No mention of who has them or for how long they've been here."

"Dammit…" Susanoo growled, slamming his hand against the house.

"Whoever has them has sealed their power. Until they use the treasure's powers, we can't locate them."

"What about that thing Imouto told you about?"

"The Uchiha possessing Kami power?" she clarified. At his nod, she answered, "Not much. There seems to be a great deal of missing history for Konoha, and I cannot find it. I've asked Iruka-kun, but he can't recall anything relevant." Susanoo sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Fuck. Well, we've tried your method, Nee-chan. I think it's time we tried mine."

"Shaking people down?" she questioned. He nodded.

"It would at least let whoever stole them know we're after them."

"It might spook them into doing something with them that we can't fix." Amaterasu argued. Susanoo grit his teeth, turning away from his sister.

"I'm sick and tired of these puny Ningen making fools out of us." Amaterasu placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Otouto." she gently said. He sighed, breathing deeply. He turned back to face her, looking calm once more. "Why don't you go out next time? Imouto and I can handle Naruto's training until you get back. You're teaching him wind control, yes?" at his nod, she smiled. "I can handle that. Go, Otouto. I'll tell Kushinada-chan where you've gone. Just don't kill anyone." Susanoo nodded before disappearing within a lightning bolt. His teleportation caught Naruto's attention, causing him to lose focus, making the wind die down. He ran over to Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi not far behind.

"Where'd Susanoo-sensei go?"

"He's going to look for his and Imouto's treasures. He left your training to me until he gets back." Amaterasu informed. Naruto nodded. "Now, keep practicing." Naruto ran back into the clearing, intent on mastering it before Susanoo returned.

Sasuke looked around the Uchiha complex one last time. His mind drifted back to what Sakon, the boy with the extra head, told him.

Flashback

"I heard Orochimaru was killed." Sasuke stated. The grey haired boy smirked.

"He was. We serve his second in command, Kabuto. He has taken command of Oto."

"Who are you four?" Sasuke asked warily.

"I am Sakon, leader of the Sound Four. The big guy is Jirobo, the guy with six arms is Kidomaru, and the girl is Tayuya." Sakon introduced.

"What exactly could Kabuto offer me that I can't get here in Konoha? He doesn't have the years of experience Orochimaru did, which means he doesn't know nearly as many Jutsu. I'd be better off learning from Kakashi." Sasuke stated. Sakon frowned.

"Kabuto knows many of Orochimaru-sama's Kinjutsu, Sasuke-kun. You would benefit greatly from them." Sasuke scoffed and moved to go back into his room. Sakon cleared his throat, making Sasuke look back. "Kabuto may have a way for you to get to your brother." Sasuke's eyes widened.

"If he can get me to my goal, then we may have something to talk about." Sakon smirked.

'_Too easy…_'

End Flashback

"Kabuto had better deliver…" he said to himself before walking out of the Uchiha complex for the last time.

* * *

Naruto let out a breath as he continued his meditation. Amaterasu had given him a different exercise than the ones that Susanoo had been training him with. Rather than trying to manipulate it in tandem with his movements, she had told him to move it with his thoughts. With Naruto's lack of progress, she had drawn that he wasn't accustomed to this sort of training, so she had instructed him to meditate.

Unfortunately, he would have to cut his training short, as Shikamaru had arrived at his home, with important news.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Naruto said, getting up from his seated position to greet his friend.

"Sasuke left the village, Naruto. He's deserting Konoha." Shikamaru reported.

"W-What?" Naruto said, shock evident on his face.

"He's left to join Oto. Hokage-sama wants me to put a team together to retrieve him. I want you with me, Naruto." Naruto nodded.

"Of course. I wouldn't let you go without me." Naruto pulled on his shirt as he and Shikamaru headed for the gate. Before they left the yard, they were stopped by Tsukuyomi calling after them. "What is it, Tsu-chan?" Naruto asked. Amaterasu approached the blonde, a faint smile on her face.

"Naruto, you have shown drastic improvement in the short time we have begun teaching you our ways. As it stands, you would be a nightmare to those who once were your equals. Measure your power accordingly, or you risk doing harm to those you would spare." Naruto nodded. "When you return, I shall have a gift for you. Now, go." Naruto bowed to the Sun Goddess and sped after Shikamaru, who was waiting for Naruto a ways ahead.

Elsewhere…

Susanoo sighed in disappointment as he stared down at the corpse of a giant Oni. He glared up at the one he had come to see as he wiped the Oni's blood from his blade. "Did you honestly expect him to beat me, Fujin?" he questioned. Unlike the human forms of Susanoo and his sisters, Fujin had the appearance of a dark skinned Oni. He wore a leopard skin loincloth and had a large bag hung around his shoulders. He had a rather calm demeanor.

"Quite honestly, no." he stated. "I simply wished to see if you had weakened any in the time you've spent in the Ningen realm. You seem slightly stronger." Susanoo took a step forward, his glare intensifying. "No need for aggression, brother."

"I beg to differ, 'brother'. I traveled the Ningen realm, searching for the Sanshu no Jingi. I found the Yakasani no Magatama in Raiden's possession. I returned it to Amaterasu-nee-san, only to find that the Kusanagi had been taken as well. I sensed your hands had touched the Yakasani, Fujin." the Wind God sat absolutely still. "You know where the others are, don't you?" he remained unmoving. "**Answer me!**" Susanoo roared, his eyes becoming white, electricity flowing from them.

"You're slipping back into your old self, my brother!" Fujin warned, pointing one end of the bag at him. Susanoo growled at the Wind God. "Very well… Yes, I know who possesses your blade."

"**And the Yata-no-Kagami?**"

"Both are in his possession." Fujin added. "I cannot tell you his name, you must understand, but one of your sisters knows him." the fury in Susanoo's eyes faded, the electricity going with it.

"Why did you take them, Fujin?"

"Simple, my brother. Your past has angered a great many of our fellow deities. Did you honestly believe that, simply because of your newfound "gentleness" that we would forget your past? You were a monster, my brother."

"You nearly damned myself and my siblings out of spite?"

"You'd be surprised what anger can do to you, my brother." he responded. He grinned mockingly at Susanoo, "Or maybe you understand better than most…"

"You're about to find out." Susanoo replied hotly, hefting his katana. Fujin jumped into the air, his bag floating just above his shoulders.

"Let's see if your storms can match mine!"

With Naruto

Naruto stood impatiently as Shikamaru checked the equipment of the team he had gathered. This team consisted of himself and Naruto, obviously, as well as Neji Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Chouji Akimichi. Once he had finished his inventory, he told them what their formation would be.

As they sped through the forest, Naruto noticed something. As he moved, he could feel the wind wrapping around him, following his movements. '_Wow… Looks like Susanoo-sensei's training really _has _paid off_.' he thought to himself. In time, they managed to catch up to the Oto Nin. To their confusion, Sasuke was not among them. They did, however, have a large coffin with them, seals covering it.

"I thought Susanoo-sensei had killed you…" Naruto said warily. Sakon smirked.

"We have Kabuto to thank. You see, he learned how Orochimaru-sama's art of resurrection works, and saw fit to resurrect myself and my companions. We freed Tayuya here when we came to get Sasuke." he explained condescendingly. His mocking tone served only to anger Naruto.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto questioned. Sakon said nothing, tossing the large coffin to Jirobo, who defly caught it before jumping away from the battle. "Oh no you don't!" Naruto shouted, running after the large teen. To everyone's shock, Naruto seemed to disappear completely. Behind them, the Sound 4 heard a loud _crack_. They turned to see Jirobo on his back, holding his gut in pain. Naruto was holding the coffin in his right arm, left fist extended slightly. "None of you are getting away."

'_How did he do that? Kabuto said this kid was a weakling!_' Sakon thought to himself. '_Calm down, calm down! Alright, he most likely doesn't know that Sasuke's in the coffin. He probably just grabbed it because I tossed it to Jirobo. We can still win this if we can get far enough away from Konoha!_' Sakon discreetly signaled his teammates his strategy. Getting affirmatives from them, they quickly enacted their plan. Kidomaru leaped forward, gaining the initiative.

"**Ninpo: Kumosokai!**" he fired the large web at the genin, immobilizing the team. Tayuya immediately brought her flute up to her lips and began to cast one of her musical genjutsu, directing it at the blonde in their path. Seeing him twitch slightly, she knew he was under her spell. Nodding to Sakon, she maintained the illusion while he ran to the blonde, reaching for the casket. Much to his shock, however, an enormous burst of wind blasted him away from the blonde, who shook his head, trying to free himself from the genjutsu.

Naruto, for the first time, now understood why Susanoo and Amaterasu had trained him the way they did. Susanoo had focused on training his body to make it reflexive, while Amaterasu had trained his mind, strengthening his resistance to mental attacks. He only now noticed, now that he was walking amongst fellow mortals, just how strong he really was. He hadn't put a great deal of force into the punch, yet it instantly sent the large man to the ground. He felt the illusion take hold, but it didn't hamper him. '_What did they do to me?_' Naruto stared down at his fist in wonder. '_Control my power… Alright, Amaterasu-sensei, Susanoo-sensei, let's see just how much their training has paid off!_' Naruto leapt over the still downed Jirobo and engaged Sakon, keeping the casket away from the grey haired teenager.

While the blonde played keep away, Kidomaru had formed curved projectiles out of his odd web-like technique. "Let's see… who dies first?" Neji looked around, byakugan active, trying to find a way to break free. He immediately found a rather interesting fact about the webbing: it was made of chakra. Neji fought back the urge to smirk. That just made this a bit easier. "How about you?" Kidomaru threw one of the projectiles at Neji. Kneading his chakra, Neji used his Juuken abilities to snap the threads around him. He narrowly dodged the projectile, wincing as it clipped his shoulder. Speeding to the rest of his friends, he snapped the threads binding them before charging the six armed man. He was best suited to defeating this man.

"Naruto!" Chouji shouted, "Toss me the casket!" Naruto threw it to the heavy set boy, who deftly caught it. Whatever was inside, clearly they didn't want Konoha to get it. Now having use of both his arms, Naruto caught a punch from Sakon and leapt forward, smashing his knee against Sakon's chest. The grey haired boy coughed, the impact doing more damage than he had anticipated. Not wasting a breath, Naruto delivered a vicious uppercut, sending him airborne. Naruto looked at his squad mates. Chouji had pulled back, guarding the casket. Shikamaru was trying to capture the red haired girl, with Kiba and Akamaru driving her back. Neji was attempting to close the distance to take down the six armed man while continuously dodging the man's projectiles, while Naruto himself held back the gray haired man. Naruto charged, aiming to take him down and assist Neji. In mid-leap, however, he was pile-drived into a tree.

"What the-" he was cut off as his assailant delivered a blow to his stomach, knocking the breath out of the blonde. Looking up at his attacker, he saw that it was the burly man that he had taken the casket from. However, he was quite changed from before. His skin was a deep red. His hair was much longer than before, flowing behind him. He had what appeared to be warts appeared on his shoulders and his forehead.

"**Not so tough now, are you?**" Jirobo taunted. His eye twitched briefly. It felt like something just cut him. Passing it off as hitting a branch, he reared his fist back, ready to crush the blonde's skull, only for the slashing feeling to get worse. The blonde put his hand up against Jirobo's chest, as if to push him away. Jirobo laughed as he felt the blonde begin to apply pressure to his chest. No one so small would be able to move his large frame. He was broken from his thoughts when he suddenly found himself embedded in a tree. How did he move him?

Naruto let out a breath. Susanoo's training was far more effective than he had realized… He dashed forward to the red skinned teen and delivered a blow of his own to the teen's stomach. Not giving the man time to recover, he followed up with a final uppercut, knocking the man unconscious. He turned back to the gray haired teen and blinked. Who was that next to him?

Sakon fought back a shiver. The former leader of the Sound 5, now the Sound 4, was standing net to him. "H-How are you still alive, Kimimaro?" he asked.

"I move with my will. You have all grown weak in my absence." he rebuked. He stared at the blonde in front of them. "You seem to have a unique power." he stated. "It flows around you in a magnificent aura…" he turned his head to the side slightly. "Are you human?"

"Yes." Naruto replied. '_But for how much longer?_' he found himself wondering. According to Susanoo, he would eventually have to become a god. Was that change occurring already? Was that what Kimimaro was sensing?

"Interesting…" the white haired man said. "No matter. Human or not, you will die regardless!" he dashed forward, catching Naruto in the chest with a kick. Naruto grabbed the leg as it impacted him, keeping him from being sent back. He firmly gripped the man's leg and effortlessly broke it, sending him to the ground. "Impressive. Unfortunately, not nearly good enough." Naruto suddenly heard a sickly cracking sound. He looked down and saw the man's leg regaining its original shape. Kimimaro stood back up, stomping the leg a few times, testing its durability. "Much better." he immediately drove his fist into Naruto's gut, pitching him up. He reached over to his shoulder and, to Naruto's shock, pulled a _bone_ out of it. He swung it at Naruto, who narrowly avoided the makeshift blade, receiving only a cut on his shirt.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto questioned, shock evident on his face.

"I am Kimimaro Kaguya. This is my Kekkei Genkai." the white haired man said before charging forward, swinging for Naruto's neck. Naruto narrowly avoided the weapon, trying to find an opening in the man's dance like movements. He jumped back, attempting to gain a bit of breathing room to reassess this new foe. Unfortunately, neither enemy would give him the time. Kimimaro charged forward, elegantly attacking the blonde. Naruto drew a kunai to block the bone blade. Parrying a slash, he kicked the white haired boy back. Sakon immediately charged into the fray, protecting his former leader. Naruto immediately flung his kunai at him. Not prepared for the speedy projectile, he grunted as it impacted his shoulder. To Naruto's shock, a _second body_ sprung out from the man! It caught the blonde by surprise, delivering a powerful right hook to his face.

"Gotta stay on guard!" the second body mocked. Naruto frowned. Okay, no more mister nice guy… Naruto pulled out two kunai, tightly gripping their handles. He stared down his foes, trying to come up with a strategy. He needed a longer weapon…

'_Wait… Wait. Susanoo-sensei can make bolts of lightning shoot from his hands. He can channel it into his katana and make his blade over 20 feet long… If he can do all that, why can't I make my kunai longer?_' Naruto found it hard to focus on shaping the wind around his kunai while keeping close watch of his foes. '_Susanoo-sensei _did_ say that I'd have less power than I would as a Kami…_' he could feel the wind coalesce around his hands, whispering over the blades. He glared at Kimimaro. He was the bigger threat right now, so he should remove him first. He dashed forward, clashing blades with Kimimaro. He pushed the pale man back and immediately ducked, narrowly dodging a kick to his head from Sakon. Growling, he formed a cross shaped seal. "That does it!" in a puff of smoke, there were now three Narutos. One dove at Sakon, driving his kunai into the man's chest, while another engaged Kimimaro in a vicious duel. The remaining Naruto looked around, attempting to gain his bearings on the others.

Kiba and Akamaru were beating back two morbid looking creatures that seemed to be controlled by the red haired girl. The girl herself was currently engaged in what could only be described as a mental chess battle with Shikamaru, with her creatures and Kiba and Akamaru as the pieces. As for Neji, he had finally closed the distance between himself and his foe, and was pummeling the six armed shinobi with the Juuken. Naruto turned to see if Chouji was alright. Instead, he was met with a large green object colliding into him. Naruto looked closer. It was Chouji! "Chouji! Are you alright?" the large boy had a kunai stuck deeply into his stomach, the blade not even visible.

"Sasuke…" he breathed out. Naruto blinked, looking back to Chouji's former location. Just as Chouji said, Sasuke was there. However, he seemed far different than he normally was. Rather than his normal arrogant smirk, his face was twisted in a sadistic grin. The shattered remains of the casket laid around him. His sharingan was spinning wildly, boring into Naruto.

"Hello, Naruto. I see you've met my new allies." his voice had a dark chill in it now, adding to Naruto's building anticipation. Something was definitely wrong about Sasuke now. Beyond his darker attitude, he seemed to exude a dark aura. Unlike what he expected, though, the aura did not frighten him. No, it seemed a drastic opposite. It was not unlike the auras around Tsukuyomi or her siblings, though it had a decidedly evil feeling to it. It was not malice, of that he was sure. There was no word for it other than evil. "They have shown me the gateway to true power."

"And what sort of power is that, Sasuke?"

"The power of your friends, of course! The power…" he clenched his fists, "of a **god!**" a crimson flame erupted from Sasuke's feet, enveloping the Uchiha. In the flurry of the flames, Naruto made out only one distinct feature: his eyes. Sasuke's eyes had changed. They still resembled the basic shape of the sharingan, yet the colors had changed. The whites of his eyes were now a midnight black, the only distinct color in his eyes being the red iris and the now purple tomoe surrounding the pupil, the pupil being violet as well. "**Finally, I have crossed into a new plateau of being! Take heart, Naruto, you shall have the pleasure of becoming my very first victim!**" the flames spiraled upward, eventually erupting over the forest, saving the trees from the blaze. They eventually shrunk, revealing Sasuke's form. He seemed to be wearing the flames as if they were an article of clothing, seeming to pay them no mind. He stepped forward, moving towards Naruto and Chouji. Naruto blinked, suddenly noticing his clones had dissipated. He now found himself surrounded by enemies. He looked down at Chouji. With that kunai in his gut, he was out of commission. Naruto was on his own.

"Too bad, kid. You've lost." Sakon taunted. As he leaped forward to deal the final blow, he found himself forced to dodge a fireball. "Sasuke! What are you doing?"

"**Naruto is **_**my**_** prey!**" he shouted. "**I am the only one allowed to kill him!**" he twitched, seemingly shrugging something off. Sakon and Kimimaro seemed to notice the unknown thing as well, for they were now frozen in place.

"No one's killing Naruto while we're around." Shikamaru stated from above them, hands in the rat seal. Naruto smiled at his friend. "How's Chouji, Naruto?"

"He's lost a lot of blood. He needs help."

"Help has arrived." Neji said, unleashing a flurry of Juuken strikes to Sakon's body, sending him flying into a tree. "Kiba!" Kiba dropped down over Kimimaro.

"**Tsuuga!**" he roared, delivering a crushing blow, sending the pale man through the thick branch. He landed and ran over to Chouji, taking him from Naruto. "I've got him."

"So you guys finished your fights?" they nodded. Naruto looked over to their prior battle sites. Tayuya was unconscious, trapped by some of the six armed man's web. The man himself looked dead, blood seeping from his mouth. Naruto looked back at his first foe. He had been entrapped by some of the webbing as well. He saw his teammates' eyes fixed on Sasuke, ready to combat the flame shrouded shinobi. "Guys, leave Sasuke to me." he stood up, staring down his former ally. Before either of them could make a move, a dark puddle appeared between them. A rather grotesque creature crawled out of it. His skin was a bright yellow, his head roughly the size of a large bird's. His body was roughly that of a small child's. It had an odd hunched over stance, seeming to skip when it walked. It sped over to Sasuke, who decreased the intensity of his flames, now simply having a faint aura of fire around him.

"What is it, imp?" he questioned, annoyed.

"Boss says to stop fooling around and leave! He doesn't want you catching one of the siblings' attention!" Sasuke grit his teeth, glaring at the imp.

"I've been waiting to kill him for quite some time, and you think you can stop me, imp?" he questioned. Before the imp could respond, he was incinerated. Sasuke grinned sadistically at Naruto. "Killing you will be the perfect start of my new life."

"Not here, Sasuke. I'm not going to let you burn down the forest. Let's do this somewhere else." Sasuke nodded.

"Alright, but the humans stay here." he silently glared at Naruto's allies. Naruto nodded, waving off his team.

"Naruto-" Shikamaru began, only to be cut off by Naruto.

"I need to do this, Shikamaru. Please, let me handle it." Shikamaru sighed, but nodded.

"I know the perfect place for us to end this. Follow me." Sasuke said, taking off at a surprising speed. Naruto bolted after the Uchiha, intent on ending their rivalry once and for all.

Unknown Location

A deafening roar echoed throughout the room, making the imps shake with fear. "**That puny Ningen is attempting to defy me?**" a chilling sinister voice said. It seemed to ooze ill intent.

"Y-Yes, boss. He's about to duel Susanoo's second apprentice."

"**And he thinks he can win?**" he asked, slight surprise sounding in his voice. "**I might hate that bastard, but he's a brilliant fighter. All Sasuke has been given is an increased connection to the element of fire. I have no idea what Susanoo's apprentice has learned from him.**" he gestured to one of the oni in the room. "**Bring Sasuke to me. Unharmed. If he's dead set on attacking Susanoo's apprentice, I am going to have to train him myself.**" the large blue skinned demon nodded, stepping into a large pool of shadows, vanishing.

With Susanoo

"You're very stubborn, 'brother'." Susanoo commented, wiping a bit of blood from his cheek. He glared at the wind god, who floated just out of the range of his katana.

"I'm not stupid, Susanoo. I'm not a physically gifted kami. Not like you. But you don't have my skill with your element."

"Considering that I can do more with mine than you ever could with yours, I think it balances out." Susanoo cracked his neck, readjusting his grip on his blade. "Are you going to tell me who has my sword, now?"

"Not a chance, brother." Susanoo's gaze hardened, gripping his katana with both hands.

"Then you'll have to die, 'brother'."

With Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi

"No… no… no…" Amaterasu sighed, tossing weapon after weapon aside.

"Nee-san, be more careful!" Tsukuyomi chided, catching every weapon tossed by her elder sister.

"I don't have time to be gentle, imouto. We need to find it before Naruto gets back."

"I know, Nee-san, but these are sacred artifacts! Izanagi-sama won't be pleased if you break one of them!"

"He'll forgive us, imouto." she waved off her little sister's worries.

"Sometimes you're harder to deal with than Onii-san…"

Back with Naruto

Naruto found himself standing atop a statue of Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage, staring down his rival, who was standing atop the statue of Madara Uchiha, directly across from him. He could see in Sasuke's eyes a dark power. He knew this wouldn't be an easy fight.

"Who gave you this power, Sasuke?" he questioned. "You said those guys from Oto showed you it, but I've trained with Susanoo-sensei long enough to know kami power. There's no way they gave you the power of a kami. If they were able to do that, they wouldn't have lost to us."

"I should have figured that training with those siblings would have smartened you up some." Sasuke said. "True, they didn't personally give me the power, but they showed me how to get it." he smirked. "You aren't the only one with otherworldly friends."

'_Is he saying that there are other kami in our world? I'd better talk to Tsu-chan when I get back…_' Naruto kept his face stern, not willing to let Sasuke know of his shock. "I suppose it doesn't matter, since only one of us will live past today." Sasuke nodded.

"Then let's end this." Sasuke rocketed off the statue, flames billowing behind him. He ducked into a forward roll, sending the flames right at Naruto with a kick. Naruto jumped up, narrowly avoiding the flames. He threw a kunai at the dark haired avenger, urging it along with a burst of wind. Unable to dodge in midair, he shot a fireball at the projectile, melting it before it made contact with him. Naruto groaned. This could take awhile.

Sasuke landed next to Hashirama's statue, frowning. He hadn't anticipated Naruto's reflexes to be so sharp. By all accounts, the Naruto that was a member of his team wouldn't have been able to dodge that blast. This would be far more difficult than he thought. While he had just as much power as Naruto did, his body wasn't as honed as Naruto's seemed to be. He would have to keep this battle at a distance. He jumped for Hashirama's head, firing another large blast at the blonde. Naruto whipped his hand as if to swat the flame away. A large current of air blasted the flames aside, shocking Sasuke.

"You might as well give up, Sasuke. Even if you have the power, you don't know how to use it." Naruto said, remembering Amaterasu's lessons. Susanoo had made him strong, while Amaterasu made him smart. He had power, and knew what to do with it. "You can't beat me, Sasuke."

"Don't count on it, Naruto." Sasuke's Sharingan began to rapidly spin, flames surrounding his fists. Naruto focused inward, manipulating his chakra around him, coating his body in a shield of wind. They dashed forward, rearing their fists back. Just before they made contact, a dark pool opened between them, forcing them to stop in their tracks. A large blue demonic creature stepped out of it, turning around to face Sasuke.

"**Boss says come.**" it spoke in an odd dialect, one unfamiliar to Naruto. It was some perversion of Japanese. Sasuke seemed to understand him, judging from his reaction.

"He wants me to leave with Naruto still alive?" he shouted. "No! I told the imp I wasn't going to go anywhere until I killed this idiot! I'm-" he was interrupted by the creature's loud roar. Naruto only then noticed the large club in the beast's hand, for it brought it down on the Uchiha's head, instantly knocking him unconscious. He reached down with his meaty hand and grabbed Sasuke, holding him in his iron grip. The creature turned back to him with a dumb smile.

"**Bye.**" it uttered before being swallowed by another black puddle. Naruto huffed, falling onto his butt.

"What the hell was that?" he wondered aloud. He had so many questions, and no answers before him. He _really_ needed to talk to Tsukuyomi when he got back. Naruto groaned, standing back up. "Gotta get to the others…"

Konoha

Naruto laid on his couch as Tsukuyomi gently ran her fingers through his hair. The injured members of his team had been properly treated, now safely resting in the hospital. Naruto had come home to find only Tsukuyomi waiting for him. According to her, Susanoo was still out searching for their treasures, while Amaterasu was out looking for something else. She wouldn't tell him what it was, so he had told her of his mission. "So what was that thing?" he asked.

"The creature that took Sasuke was called an oni. Some kami employ them as free muscle, some as bodyguards. Some kami _are_ oni." she explained.

"And what was that thing he came from?"

"Simple teleportation. It is personalized by the user. Nee-san uses flames, Nii-san uses lightning, and I use my own energy."

"Then could you tell who's teleportation it was?" he asked hopefully. Tsukuyomi shook her head, making him grimace.

"I'm afraid not. If I was there with you when it happened, I would've been able to read the energy, but just by the form of the technique, it's impossible."

"Damn… Well, can you explain how he suddenly became able to manipulate fire without hand signs? According to my academy instructors, even the kage's weren't able to do that."

"He must have received an influx of power from a kami. There's no other way. We would have sensed another kami in Konoha."

"Is that how I was able to combat him?" he asked.

"He didn't have proper instruction like you did. If he did, however, you would have been killed." she explained. Naruto sat up, surprised.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"It's simple, Naruto-kun. You use your chakra to manipulate your element. It's ill-suited to be used that way. Our power is much more suited to the task. Sasuke had more power to use than you do. Naruto, until you gain our power, the power of a kami, you won't be able to take on anyone with access to kami power." she smiled sadly at him.

"How do I get the power of a kami?" he asked. Tsukuyomi looked away from him, standing up from the sofa. "What is it, Tsu-chan?"

"It's not an easy thing to do, Naruto-kun. You might not survive it…" Naruto stood up, turning the diminutive goddess around to face him.

"Tsu-chan, I know Sasuke better than anyone. What he could and would do with that power…" he looked away. "I have to be the one to stop him. I'm the only one who can. Please, tell me…"

"Not yet, Naruto." he turned around, seeing Amaterasu standing in the doorway. "You aren't ready yet. There is indeed a high risk involved, but Otouto and I have faith that you will survive." she assured. He saw her holding a long object wrapped in cloth.

"What's that?" he asked. Amaterasu smiled, holding it out to him. He carefully took the object, looking at it, confused.

"I told you when you returned I would have a gift for you. Naruto, you have grown so much in the short time we have been here. Think of this as a reward for it all." he unwrapped the object, revealing the polished black shaft of a Yari. He removed the rest of the cloth, showing an elegant weapon. "This is the Tonbogiri, one of the three great spears of old. It was used by very powerful men in the past, and until recently was kept in our realm for safety. I feel it could be put to better use with you. Take good care of it, Naruto. It is nearly as precious as our three treasures." Naruto nodded absently, in awe of his new weapon. It's blade was long, nearly a foot in length. It gleamed, light dancing on it. He gripped the shaft tightly. It felt… _right_.

"Thank you, Amaterasu-sensei." the goddess smiled at the blonde. They were jarred from their moment by Kushinada's explosive entrance.

"I can't sense Susanoo-kun!" she alerted.

"Maybe he's out of range…" Naruto offered, confused.

"You don't understand, Naruto." Amaterasu said.

"I can _always_ sense Susanoo-kun. He asked Izanagi-sama to make it that way so that I wouldn't ever be worried about him. Something must have happened to him!" she frantically shouted. Amaterasu embraced her sister-in-law, gently rubbing her head and whispering soothing sounds.

"We have to find him, then." Naruto said. "After all he's done for me, I can't let anything happen to him!" Amaterasu nodded.

"I know my Otouto. He would never compromise his connection with Kushinada-chan. Not even if it meant his life." she had Kushinada sit down. "We will look for him, and we will find him."

"I'm coming with you." Kushinada said. "I'm not going to just sit and wait for him to come back. He taught me how to defend myself." Amaterasu smirked.

"I wasn't planning on leaving you here." she turned to her sister. "Gather our things. I'll alert the Hokage, since we're taking Naruto with us. Kushinada, try to reach for him. If you can glean any sort of lead for us to start our search, it would help. Naruto, I suggest you say goodbye to your friends. We could be gone for quite some time." she warned. Naruto nodded, attaching Tonbogiri to his back. He headed out the door, vaguely hearing Amaterasu's warning of them leaving in an hour.

He found himself in front of the Ichiraku ramen shop. They were the closest thing he could call a family. He entered the shop and was surprised to see Jiraiya sitting, seemingly waiting for him. "Ero-sennin?" he said, "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. I have an offer for you." Naruto frowned. Offer?

"What kind of offer?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to become my apprentice. I could train you. There's one catch, though. You'd have to leave the village for about two or three years." Jiraiya said. His hidden agenda went unnoticed by Naruto, as he had hoped. Jiraiya would prefer to keep the Akatsuki hidden from Naruto for as long as he possibly could.

"I'm already leaving, Ero-sennin."

"What? With who?" Jiraiya frowned. This was not good.

"With Tsukuyomi-chan and the others. Something's wrong with Susanoo-sensei." he said. He turned to Teuchi and Ayame, who looked worried. As they had stayed, the siblings had developed a bit of a friendship with the ramen chefs. "We're going to find him. I don't know when I'll be back, so make sure to stay open. When I get back, the first thing I'll do is come here for your ramen!"

"Good luck, Naruto." Teuchi said.

"Be careful." Ayame hugged the blonde before urging him out of the shop. Jiraiya stood up.

"Dammit… I've got to see Tsunade!" he bolted out of the shop, headed straight for the Hokage tower.

Hokage Tower

"So you want my permission to take Naruto?" Tsunade asked. Amaterasu had already filled her in on her purpose for this visit, and it didn't sit well with her. She felt as if Naruto leaving would alienate him from the village, if not humanity itself.

"No. As I've told your predecessor, I do not require your permission. I am merely informing you that Naruto will be out of the village for quite some time. He wants to go, so we are taking him with us."

"And if I say no?" Tsunade said, her eyes narrowing. Amaterasu kept an impassive face.

"Naruto will still come with us. Make no mistake, Tsunade, you have no more power over Naruto than you do over us. The Kyuubi is, and has always been, _our_ responsibility. The fact that you think you can control it is hilarious. I warn you now, stop with the grandstanding. It only makes you look sad." Tsunade grit her teeth, infuriated at the goddess's tone. Amaterasu was speaking to her as if she were some animal who barely understood what she was saying.

"Fine… He can go. Just keep him safe."

"He's safer with us than he ever was here." Amaterasu stated before vanishing in a swirl of flames. At that exact moment, Jiraiya burst through the door.

"Tsunade! Naruto's-"

"Leaving the village. I know. Amaterasu was just here."

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"What _can_ we do, Jiraiya? Naruto is one of them, or soon will be. Other than a select few people, he doesn't really have any reason to stay in Konoha."

"Which is why we can't let him leave with them! Minato wanted that boy to be the savior of the ninja world!"

"And who says that he can't accomplish that with them. Hell, he might be better off with them. He's definitely stronger." she noted. Jiraiya sat down, sighing.

"This is not good…"

With Naruto

Naruto was heading back to his home, having already said his farewells to his friends. Since they were all still in the hospital, it took little time to move from room to room. He hadn't really bothered to look for Sakura or Kakashi. He found himself drifting further from them since Susanoo took him under his wing. He opened the door and found Kushinada worriedly pacing back and forth.

"Uh, Kushinada-san?" he said, gaining her attention. "You know we'll find him, right?"

"Oh, I know we'll find him. I'm not worried about that. It's how we'll find him that's worrying me. What if he's hurt?"

"I'm sure he's fine. He's too tough to get beat!" She smiled sadly.

"Thank you, Naruto…" Amaterasu came up behind him.

"Did you say your goodbyes?" he nodded. "Then you're ready to go?"

"Are you sure you want to go with us, Naruto-kun?" Tsukuyomi asked, grasping his hand. "I mean, this is your home…" he smiled at the dark haired girl, squeezing her hand.

"My home is with you, Tsu-chan." Amaterasu smiled at the young couple. She grabbed onto Kushinada and turned to Tsukuyomi.

"Meet us at their mansion." she said before they both vanished in a flash of fire. Tsukuyomi tightened her grip on his hand.

"Hang on."

"Goodbye, Konoha…" he said. A blinding white flash illuminated the room. When it cleared, they were gone.

The hunt had begun.

* * *

**DONE! Dear god, this took a lot of energy to write! Even so, this is probably the most important chapter of MOTG so far. How did Sasuke get kami powers? Who is this mysterious figure? What did Kabuto want with Sasuke? Why does Jiraiya not want Naruto to be with the gods? What happened to Susanoo? Will I ever start regularly updating my stories? All very good questions!**

**So, as I said, I will be putting this story on a hiatus. How long? I'm not really sure. It all depends on how long it takes for me to reach five chapters on Kitsune Vampire. By the way, I'm already working on chapter 3 of that, as well as chapter four of Heart of a Devil! Heart of a Devil is the story I'd like to update next, but it takes a great deal more to write, so Kitsune Vampire or Son of Starkiller may be updated first. As for Shinigami Ninja… even I'm not really sure what's going to happen with that one. It's at a point where it requires an amount of skill that I'm not really sure I possess yet. I don't abandon my stories, but I don't see myself updating it in the near future unless I have a spark of inspiration.**

**Please, feel free to share any theories on what happened to Susanoo, or anything about the strange happenings in this chapter. I welcome your speculation! **

**Forever in the Sky,**

**The Red Star**


	5. Thundering Messenger! Journey into Yomi!

**Greetings, my loyal readers! Well, after two months, I'm back to this story. My plan is to work solely on this until it's finished, so look forward to future updates. **

**In this chapter, we learn a bit more about the culture of the Kami. Not in great detail, but it's an important insight. As I've said before, I have no useless information in my stories. It's all there for a reason. Read carefully, and don't be afraid to correct me on any errors you see. I welcome it!**

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

* * *

Six Months Later…

Raijin burst through the doors, rushing past the frantic oni that were ferrying medicinal items to and from the bedroom. She threw open the bedroom door and rushed to the bedside of her lover.

"Hello, my dear." Fujin greeted, wincing.

"Who did this to you?" she questioned, raking over his battered form. He had large gashes all over his torso, his left arm had been cut off at the elbow, and there was a large slash mark across his face. In spite of the heavy wounds, he seemed unconcerned.

"Don't bother, my dear. There is no point attempting revenge."

"You killed them?" she asked hopefully. He shook his head.

"No, but he did not escape unscathed. If I had more time-" he coughed, wincing as the wounds on his torso burned.

"Please, Fujin-kun." she said, grabbing hold of his hand. "Please, tell me who did this." he closed his eyes, sighing. He pulled on her hand, beckoning her towards him. She leaned closer to him, her concern for his wellbeing obvious on her face.

"Susanoo." he admitted. She stood up and was about to storm out of the room when he tightly grabbed her hand and slammed the door shut with a burst of wind. "Don't go after him. Our poor judgment led to us making a deal with that stupid Ningen and nearly killing an entire country. I paid my price for my hubris." he looked over to his missing arm.

"You aren't going to restore it?" she asked. He smiled at her.

"Not for awhile, at least. I can make due with one arm for now." he lifted her hand to his face, kissing it. "Don't pursue this. I'm still alive." she frowned slightly, but nodded.

"So what are we going to do now?" she asked. Strategy was always his forte, not hers.

"Break contact with the Ningen. Susanoo knows who has the treasures, but I didn't tell him who stole them." she nodded. "He's likely too wounded to go after them, though. Where were his sisters before you came here?" he asked.

"Amaterasu was going with Kushinada to Susanoo's realm to search for him while Tsukuyomi and her pet are checking the lesser realms. Why?"

"Go to Amaterasu and tell her they're in the human world. Tell her about our deal with the Ningen."

"But-"

"Susanoo already knows. If not for his own injuries, she would know already. We're supposed to be their allies, right?" she nodded reluctantly. She had never really liked Susanoo, and his mutilating her lover was only one more reason to hate him. If Fujin thought it was a better idea for them to be allies, though, then she would have to swallow her pride for now.

Unknown Location

Sasuke panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. The heat in this realm was almost unbearable, key word being _almost_. His sensei kept it just under a level that would incapacitate him. As a result, he quickly tired while training. According to his sensei, this was to enable him to combat Naruto. Naruto's stamina translated to Kami power, according to him, would make Naruto potentially even stronger than Susanoo, one of the most dangerous Kami in all the realms. Sasuke had never really thought of Naruto as that much of a threat, not until seeing just how close they were in power.

"**Giving up?**" his teacher asked, brow raised. Sasuke shook his head, rolling his shoulders.

"No. I can keep going." he clenched his fists, crouching. He dashed towards his sensei with a roar.

If Naruto was going to become a Kami, Sasuke was going to become one as well. Whatever it took to best him.

Elsewhere

Tsukuyomi sighed, rubbing her temples. It had been six months since she had last seen her brother, and there was still not even the smallest sign that he was alive. There were not many Kami that had the power and skill to kill him, but she knew that it was quite possible. Her brother had quite a colorful past. Before Kushinada came along, he was extremely violent, bordering on psychopathic at times. He had even been thrown out of their home realm on more than one occasion. The last time, though, he had met Kushinada. She didn't know what happened while he was down there, but he had calmed considerably when she next saw him. The only explanation was Kushinada herself. He hated to show his violent side in front of her. Now, though, Kushinada was nearly frantic. She missed him terribly, and was relentless in her pursuit of any leads they found regarding his whereabouts.

She smiled faintly as she saw Naruto diligently practicing with his spear. She hadn't in her faintest dreams imagined herself with a Ningen, but he was better than any of the Kami she had met. Most of them ignored her in favor of her sister, or regarded her as a child due to her chosen form. Now, though, she got much more respect. She supposed her new form was the main reason. As Naruto had begun to mature, she realized that dating her would be an odd experience. He was a teenager, and would likely feel strange dating someone who remained at the age of 12, so she had altered her form to something a bit older. She had aged herself up to match him. She had quickly found that she enjoyed having an older form. Kami paid more attention to her, and she often found Naruto's gaze turn upon her. He seemed to enjoy her new form as well.

"Any leads?" she blinked, taken from her inner musings by Naruto's voice. She looked up at him and noticed that he had discarded his shirt, leaving his torso bare. As much as she could tell that Naruto enjoyed her new form, she found herself enjoying Naruto's own maturation even more. The training had done him _quite_ the service. His muscles were much more obvious now, though his build was still rather slender. "Tsu-chan, eyes up." he grinned at her.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" she asked.

"Got sweaty." he responded with a shrug. "So, any leads?" she shook her head sadly.

"No. Nee-san and Kushinada-dono are searching his ream for clues, but they haven't found anything." he sighed.

"That's because he isn't there." they both turned around to see an _extremely_ tall woman walking up to them. She had rather unusual features, having pure white skin and two long horns sloping back, matching the flow of her long brown hair. She was the perfect example of the word amazon. She was also wearing very little clothing, Naruto noted. "Hello, Tsukuyomi-chan."

"Raijin-dono…" Tsukuyomi greeted warily. While she was on fairly good terms with most of the other Kami, Raijin and her lover, Fujin, had quite a past with Susanoo. He had tormented them both quite often before he met Kushinada. "How do you know Onii-san isn't there?"

"Because that's nowhere close to the trajectory he was sent flying after his fight with Fujin-kun." Tsukuyomi bolted up, glaring warningly at Raijin. "Calm yourself, Tsukuyomi-chan. I'm not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?" Naruto questioned, grabbing Tonbogiri's shaft.

"Fujin-kun is badly wounded. His fight with Susanoo nearly killed him."

"So?" Naruto responded. Why should he care about the person who hurt his sensei?

"So, Susanoo isn't much better. He's likely not dead, but I doubt he'll be able to access his powers for awhile." Raijin's tone took a slightly harsher turn, not happy that she was interrupted by a human.

"How would being hurt affect his powers?"

"Only two Kami are nearly omnipotent, Naruto-kun." Tsukuyomi interjected. "Izanagi-sama and Izanami-kaa-san, the first Kami of our kind."

"Wait, wait, wait. There are different kinds of Kami?" Raijin huffed. This was taking too long. she needed to deliver her message fast before Amaterasu moved.

"Izanagi-sama and Izanami-sama were created by the Kotoamatsukami before the creation of the first human realm. Izanagi-sama created the Elemental Nations after they created the world. Izanagi-sama is the most powerful Kami in our dimension. Can we move on now?" she asked impatiently. Tsukuyomi nodded. "Good. Fujin-kun says he might know where Susanoo was sent flying to, and it's not good."

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, Yomi." Tsukuyomi blinked, not expecting that. "I know, not good. If he had his powers…"

"I'm still in the dark about that…" Naruto noted. Raijin sighed.

"This is why I hate Ningen…" she rubbed her temples irritably. "I'm sure Tsukuyomi has told you that we use a special type of power, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, we generate it continuously. That's why we seem so powerful to humans. We don't run out of power. Against other Kami, though, we can temporarily exhaust our stores."

"If you never run out, how can you run out? That doesn't make any sense."

"You expend more energy when fighting a stronger opponent. Only a Kami can equal a Kami. We can, with significant effort, actually kill one another. It's just not easy. If we completely exhaust ourselves, we're basically as weak as a Ningen. We don't regenerate, we can't use our powers, and we lose our physical abilities. That's the state Susanoo is most likely in right now, and if he's in Yomi, that's a bad thing."

"Well, Yomi's the land of the dead, right? What's so dangerous there?" Naruto asked.

"Every single dead soul that wasn't reincarnated." Raijin replied. "So, the truly evil Ningen, all the vanquished Youkai, and the few dead Kami. And they'll be gunning for him."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"He put a lot of them in there." Naruto blinked. "Susanoo's lived for thousands upon thousands of years, Ningen. He's killed more beings than almost anyone."

"So he's been reduced to a human in a realm full of people who want revenge on him?" he summarized. Raijin nodded. "Great…"

"There isn't a choice. We need to go into Yomi." Tsukuyomi declared. She wasn't going to let her brother be torn to pieces there. "Raijin-dono, thank you for telling us this."

"If Fujin-kun hadn't asked me to do it…" the thunder god grumbled. Tsukuyomi smiled at the tall woman. "He asked me to tell Amaterasu-sama as well. I need to go now before she leaves Susanoo's realm. I don't really feel like searching for her." Raijin began walking away from the duo.

"Raijin-dono!" she turned around, staring impatiently at the goddess. "Thank you." the thunder goddess grumbled briefly before teleporting away in a swirl of lightning bolts.

"When am I going to learn how to do that?" Naruto asked. Tsukuyomi shook her head, smiling lightly.

"Put a shirt on, Naruto-kun. We're going to Yomi."

Lower Realms

Naruto let out a whistle as he looked at the new landscape. It was rather barren, possessing no notable characteristics. He found that surprising in itself, as all of the landscapes he had seen since traveling to the realm of the Kami had astounding features, some of which seemed impossible. Waterfalls with no source, a perpetual night sky, even a realm with no ground, but none of them were this… _boring_. "Uh, Tsu-chan? Where are we?"

"The lower realms. It's a dimension below the Kami dimension. It's home to the oni. It's also the only way to get to Yomi." she answered, looking just as amazed by the landscape as he was. "I've actually never been here myself." she admitted.

"How come?" Naruto asked. He then jumped as a loud roar erupted behind him. He quickly turned around and immediately had to dodge a giant club sent crashing down atop him. He pulled Tonbogiri off his back, preparing to do battle with the creature. He recognized it as an oni, similar in appearance to the one that took Sasuke in their last battle, though this one was easily twice as large. '_Well, I guess that question just answered itself…_' he blinked as the oni roared at him again. '_He's got quite a set of lungs on him…_' the oni's loud bugle was apparently not to intimidate him, as several more oni of various size, shape, and color suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Uh, Tsu-chan? What's going on?"

"Oni are territorial, Naruto-kun." Tsukuyomi crouched slightly, her hands beginning to shimmer as she summoned her power. "They don't like outsiders."

"So we're going to have to fight our way to the gate, then?" he asked. Tsukuyomi nodded. Naruto smirked, gripping the shaft of his spear tighter. "Well, then, this is the perfect chance to see how much stronger I've gotten since my fight with Sasuke!" he spun Tonbogiri, bolting towards the oni.

Susanoo's Mansion

Amaterasu rubbed her eyes tiredly. They had come to Susanoo's realm to possibly find some sort of clue as to his whereabouts. Unfortunately, none of his servants had seen him for nearly a year now. That wasn't very surprising, since Kushinada spent more time at the mansion than he did. He preferred spending time with his sisters. They had searched his entire realm and came up with nothing. Not even a hint of his energy. It was incredibly frustrating for her, and even worse for Kushinada. She had spent thousands of years with him and was not used to not knowing where he was. Amaterasu was just frustrated, Kushinada was nearly frantic. Luckily, though, they had just caught a break. Raijin had appeared and informed them that he was stuck in Yomi. Could they ever catch a break? "How did he end up in Yomi? There are supposed to be safeguards to keep Kami out of there."

"All I know is that Fujin-kun sent him flying towards Yomi, and he disappeared when he reached it. Maybe the oni broke down the safeguards or something."

"Wasn't Enma assigned to his post to prevent something like that from happening?" Kushinada asked. Raijin sighed, rubbing her temples.

"I already said I don't know. You want answers, you'll have to get them from Susanoo. Tsukuyomi and her pet Ningen went ahead." Amaterasu stood up suddenly.

"What? You told Tsukuyomi before me? Why?" she shouted indignantly. She trusted her sister, but she didn't want her or Naruto anywhere near Yomi. It was too dangerous.

"I tried to get to you first. I couldn't get into Susanoo's realm. He's got safeguards keeping me out. Since I couldn't reach you, I went to Tsukuyomi. I told her and she immediately left. Then I went back to Fujin-kun and he told me how to bypass the safeguards, so here I am." she explained. Amaterasu frowned, but remained composed.

"Alright. Thank you for telling me, Raiden." Raijin nodded, seeming slightly miffed at the name Amaterasu used.

"I don't go by that name anymore, Amaterasu. It's Raijin now." she stated firmly. Amaterasu smiled faintly.

"You'll always be Raiden-chan to me. I remember when you were a newborn." Raijin let out a brief laugh before returning to her usual slightly pissed off look.

"You and Susanoo are the only ones who still call me Raiden. I'm Raijin now."

"Whatever you say, Raiden-chan." Raijin growled annoyedly. She was doing it on purpose now…

"Whatever. I delivered my message. Now I can go back and see how Fujin-kun is doing." she walked away from the duo.

"You don't call him by his real name?" she questioned. Raijin stopped, turning around slowly. "Fujin isn't his name, Raiden. You know that, so why do you still call him that?"

"Because that's what we want to be called. Not all of us are comfortable using our child names like you and your siblings are." Amaterasu rolled her eyes.

"It's not like your names are bad, though."

"Those names represent our childhood. We aren't kids anymore. In spite of what you think, I'm full grown now. I'm of equal standing to you now." Raijin seemed slightly angry at Amaterasu for some reason.

"I never said you weren't, Raiden-chan. I just see no shame in your real name. Raijin may be who you are to the others, but to me, you'll always be Raiden-chan. I can't help that." she smiled at the thunder goddess, who sighed annoyedly.

"Call me whatever you want, Amaterasu-sama. I don't care." she muttered before teleporting away in her usual swirl of lightning.

"What are we going to do, Nee-san?" Kushinada asked. She already knew what she wanted to do, but she had never been to Yomi. Amaterasu had, so she would defer to her judgment.

"Well, Imouto is definitely headed for Yomi. Naruto's almost certainly with her. We'll meet them there. I know you can fight, so you're coming with." Kushinada nodded, grateful that her sister was letting her come with her. She knew that most of the other Kami would have forced her to stay in Susanoo's realm. "Let's go." Amaterasu placed her hand on Kushinada's shoulder, teleporting them both in a swirl of flame.

Lower Realms

Naruto jumped over the oni, easily decapitating it with Tonbogiri. He deftly spun the long spear, sending an arc of wind off of the blade to sever the limbs of several more oni. Not too far behind him, Tsukuyomi was easily blasting oni apart with her power, none of them even being able to get close to her. He jumped back next to her, letting out a breath.

"Do these things ever give up?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Most oni are incapable of higher brain functions. The more intelligent ones are usually servants and advisors to the Kami, while the simpler ones are just muscle or training partners."

"And the smart ones don't object to this?" he asked, stabbing an oni that approached in the throat.

"A few did, at first. They didn't live very long. Naruto, you must understand, Izanagi-sama is very powerful, even by Kami standards. The difference between Onii-san and him is like the distance between you and me when we first met." Naruto blinked surprisedly at her for a moment.

"Wow…" he said.

"There is a reason he rules over the Kami, Naruto. Remember, he created the Elemental Nations." they noticed that they had reached their objective, and ornate gate. Naruto noticed the oni wouldn't come near them now, staying as far away from the gate, and thus, them, as they could.

"It's all so weird, Tsu-chan." he said, placing his spear against his shoulder. "I mean, yeah, it's been six months, but it's just mind boggling that you're so casual about all of the stuff this guy can do. I wonder if I'll ever get used to it…"

"Naruto," she smiled at her boyfriend, "you will. You're far more comfortable with us than you were when we first met. You've taken to your life with us quite well." he placed an arm around her.

"Not with 'us'. With _you_." she smiled, placing a gentle peck to his jaw. Naruto was 14 years old now, and his following of Susanoo's training schedule for him had drastically changed his form. He was much taller, roughly 5'5", and had developed quite a bit of muscle, though his build had remained thin, aiding in his agility. His attire had changed as well, wearing a variation of his usual orange jumpsuit. It consisted of black pants, a black and orange zipped up coat, and, notably, he no longer wore his headband. Naruto had stopped wearing it only recently, reasoning that it wouldn't be right serving the village with his power. No human would be able to equal him.

With Susanoo absent and Amaterasu searching with Kushinada, Tsukuyomi had taken over his training. In spite of their relationship, she was quite tough on him, almost as demanding as Susanoo was. Her reasoning for this, when asked, was that he would be facing beings nearing god-like power, and she didn't want him to die. "So," he began, looking up at the large gate before them, "How do we get in?"

Naruto approached the gate hesitantly. It was astoundingly large, easily dwarfing Konoha's gate. Naruto had to wonder what the gate was made to keep out, or in, that necessitated something so large. Before Naruto could come within reaching distance, a giant hand slammed down in front of him, narrowly avoiding squashing him. He jumped back, surprised, and looked up. The creature that belonged to that hand was easily as tall as the gate. It's skin was orange, like a flame. It's eyes were bright yellow, seeming to glow with anger. He had a long beard that somehow made him seem even more intimidating. He snarled down at them, revealing his fangs. "**Only the dead may enter Yomi!**" he roared. Tsukuyomi stepped forward, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Enma-daio! I am Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, youngest of the San Kizoku no Kodomo!" she shouted, her voice echoing an absolute authority.

"**Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto?**" the large being crouched down to better examine the goddess. Upon seeing her, the let out a booming laugh. "**I'm sorry, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto-sama!** **You look older than I am used to. What brings you to my domain?**" his tone was highly polite, a stark contrast to his demonic features.

"I was told by Raijin-dono that my Onii-san was launched into Yomi during a battle with Fujin-dono. We need to retrieve him." the large man nodded.

"**Of course, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto-sama! You must understand, I cannot sense you or your siblings. I am sorry for not seeing your brother.**" he bowed apologetically.

"There's no need for apologies, Enma-daio. You are a deity, not a Kami. You need not fear me or my siblings." she assured. "Would you object to my bringing Naruto in with me?" she gestured to Naruto, who was still staring amazedly at Enma.

"**Of course not! You will watch him, yes?**" she nodded. "**Then I have no objections. I only ask that you not instigate Amatsu Mikaboshi-sama. He has been quite violent lately.**" she nodded.

"I only wish to bring my brother back to our family. Will you open the gate?" He nodded, standing back up to his full height. He turned around to the large gate and grabbed onto two large chains attached to each door. He pulled the door open, grunting. The doors slowly opened, creaking from disuse. When the opening was wide enough, Tsukuyomi and Naruto headed through. "Thank you, Enma-daio. Please watch for our return. I do not wish to spend any more time than necessary in here." the large man nodded, closing the gates behind them.

"Wow…" Naruto looked around the disturbing landscape that was the underworld. It was pitch black, open flames scattered across the landscape being the only source of light. Bones and tattered clothes littered the ground, slightly disturbing the blonde. "This… wasn't what I was imagining when you said this was the underworld. I mean, it's kinda creepy, but I was imagining people being tortured, axe crazy demons…" Tsukuyomi nodded.

"Most Ningen do. Being sent to Yomi simply means, for Ningen, that they were not deserving of reincarnation. For one reason or another, they weren't virtuous enough to deserve another life. It is not synonymous with eternal suffering, though it is not an easy place to live in. Some even prefer Yomi to the other realms."

"Who would prefer being in the underworld?" Naruto asked.

"Amatsu Mikaboshi." she replied. "He's a very powerful Kami, almost as strong as Nee-san. His domain is the stars, and he's the only inherently evil Kami."

"He's evil?"

"Onii-san has had quite a violent past, Naruto-kun, but he was never called an evil Kami. To be deemed an evil Kami, one must have never done a good deed. He has a lasting hatred of Nee-san and Onii-san. He doesn't seem to mind me, though…" she added, sounding mildly confused.

"I'm starting to see a pattern here, Tsu-chan. They hate your brother, either love or hate your sister, and don't mind you." Tsukuyomi nodded.

"That's pretty much how it is with us." she agreed. "Some hate us for our actions, others for being Izanagi-sama's favorite children. I was always seen as 'Amaterasu and Susanoo's little sister'. Only a select few Kami recognize me as Tsukuyomi."

"Living in the shadow of your siblings… that's gotta be rough." he guessed. He didn't have a family, so he didn't know what it was like to have that sort of problem. The closest he had was being overshadowed by Sasuke in the academy, but that didn't seem significant enough for a proper comparison.

"I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me that much, it's just annoying." she assured.

"So where do we start?" Naruto asked. There weren't any signs that he could see that pointed to Susanoo's whereabouts.

"Well, if Raijin-dono is to be trusted, then Onii-san is without his powers. That means that we can't track him by his energy. We'll have to do this the old fashioned way." he nodded as they set out into Yomi, hoping for some sign that Susanoo was still alive.

Unknown Location

He gasped as they removed the blades from his gut, slumping to the floor. They had been torturing him for who knows how long now. Every day, they used a new method. Hooks, acids, blades, saws, they had used it all, only stopping when he was near death. Then he was healed up and they started anew. He was surprised he hadn't died from the shock. He attempted to raise his head, but he had lost too much blood. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. He felt his body get colder, his life beginning to fade. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, though, a hand roughly grabbed his head, a shadowy power coalescing around it. The energy shot through his body, rapidly healing him of his wounds and restoring his lost blood. He gasped as he felt life fill his body once more, taking deep breaths. Once the hand retreated, he raised his head and glared at his captor.

"**We can't have you dying yet, can we?**" his captor asked. "**I still have yet to repay you for all those years.**"

" I'm different now." he insisted. "I'm not the same person who sent you here." his captor sneered furiously at him, grabbing his throat and squeezing tightly.

"**You will never change! I saw it in your fight with Fujin! You hide away your true self to placate your woman! You haven't changed, you've merely created a disguise!**" he furiously snapped. He released his grip on the captive's throat, making him cough as he took in a breath. "**You hid your true self so that she wouldn't leave you. Now you try to make everyone believe you've changed from the monster you truly are. You were a monster, but now you're just pathetic. A pathetic Kami hiding his inner rage.**" he bolted forward, his restraints keeping him from attacking his captor. Said captor smirked. "**You don't even hide it all that well. The right provocation and you revert to your old aggression.**"

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm restrained, Amatsu. As soon as I get free, I'll pay you back for all the hell you've put me through."

"**Oh, I don't think that your woman would approve of that.**" he taunted. His captive grinned darkly.

"No, she probably wouldn't, but she knows how vindictive I can be. She'd understand. If not, I can wait for her to forgive me."

"**You sound so confident that you'll get free.**" the captor said.

"You know my sisters, Amatsu. They'll find me, free me, and then I'll kill you."

"**Ah, but Amaterasu won't enter Yomi. She is the Sun Goddess, after all. Why would she enter a place of darkness?**"

"Because I'm in here. My sisters and I share a bond that you will never understand, Amatsu. They would do anything for me, and I would do the same." the captor scoffed, turning away from him.

"**We'll have to wait and see, won't we?**" he grabbed the door, turning back around to face the captive's tormentors. "**Increase the number of blades. He can handle more.**" the oni nodded, pulling out a tray full of ebony blades. The man grinned sadistically at his captive. "**Try not to scream yourself hoarse.**" he pulled the door shut behind him, hearing his captive cry out as he left the hallway, grinning.

* * *

**And done! That's the first chapter done! Like it? Hate it? Don't be shy now!**

**We've got a few new characters this chapter. They've all got a purpose, like most everything else in my stories, so don't discount them. I'm already working on the next chapter, so if life allows, it should be up later this month. Look forward to it!**

**Forever in the Sky,**

**The Red Star**


	6. Rescue! A Hero's Confusion!

**Greetings, my loyal readers! Yes, I'm still alive. Writing this has been a bitch. I can't tell you how annoying this chapter has been. To compensate for its belatedness, I added in a bit of the next chapter. Since you didn't come here to listen to me, let's get this show on the road!**

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

* * *

_Susanoo slammed the pommel of his blade against his face, crushing his nose. He immediately followed up with a powerful kick to his side, audibly cracking a few of his ribs. As he squirmed, trying to reset the bones to speed up his healing, Susanoo reached down and picked him up by his neck and proceeded to drag him to the edge. He held him out over it, preparing to drop him. It was at that moment that he saw his _grin. _That sadistic grin that never went away, the expression that made the other Kami question if he was really related to Amaterasu. "You wanted a duel, you got one."_

"_I hate you…" he growled as his nose began to heal. Susanoo's grin seemed to widen._

"_Oh, I know you do. Here's the problem. I don't care!" his tone was _dripping _with mockery, infuriating him. "I hate listening to you prattle on and on about how much you hate me and my siblings. I hate listening to you complain about your lack of notoriety amongst the humans. You talk too damn much!" he tossed him to the side, keeping him on the plane. He sat up, wincing as his ribs creaked in pain. "So now I'm gonna fix that." he looked up at Susanoo, seeing his grin go from being sadistic to absolutely_ psychotic._ He then tasted blood as Susanoo plunged Totsuka into his throat and began _carving his vocal cords out. _His mouth gaped open in a silent scream, he watched in horror as Susanoo pulled them out of his throat, gleefully incinerating them with a blast of lightning. _

_He let out a gargled sound, completely unintelligible to anyone's ears, clutching his throat. Susanoo grinned happily. "Oh, that's _much _better. I prefer you this way. Now, then," his eyes darkened, actually making him_ shiver _in fright, "let's see how many pieces I can cut you into before you pass out." he hefted his blade and crouched down next to him. He raised his bloodstained blade…_

* * *

He blinked tiredly, rubbing the scar on his throat. Ever since he found Susanoo in Yomi, he had dreamt repeatedly of the day he lost his ability to speak. After thousands of years, the act itself held no tormenting memories for him. What still terrified him to this day, though, was his _smile_ as he did it. He had carved his throat open with an almost childlike glee. That _smile _still tormented him to this day.

He stood up, waving off his oni servants as he grabbed his cloak. It was time to check up on his favorite prisoner…

Amaterasu sighed impatiently. She and Kushinada had traveled down to the lower realms to enter Yomi and, after stepping over the carnage caused by her little sister and her apprentice, met up with Enma. Unsurprisingly, he informed them that they had entered the gate. "And you're sure there's no way you can permit me to enter?" she asked. Enma didn't have a problem with Kushinada entering, but Amaterasu was not allowed in. Her powers were toxic to practically everything in there, due to it being a land of darkness and her a light Kami.

"**I am truly sorry, Amaterasu-Omikami-sama, but my duty is to make certain that Yomi remains safe for its denizens. Your mere presence would kill thousands.**" she nodded reluctantly. She couldn't risk destroying that many souls just to save her brother. Tsukuyomi would have to do it alone.

"I understand, Enma-daio. Would you be opposed to my staying here until my otouto is found?" he shook his head.

"**Of course not, Amaterasu-Omikami-sama. Kushinada-sama may stay as well, if she wishes.**" he offered. Kushinada shook her head.

"Thank you, but I would rather bring my husband back. I trust Tsukuyomi-chan, but this is something I need to do myself. Susanoo-kun has always been there for me, and I for him. That's not going to change, no matter how long we're apart." Enma and Amaterasu smiled.

"**Very well, Kushinada-sama. Please hurry, though. As Susanoo-no-Mikoto-sama's wife, some of them will be quite eager to get their revenge on him through you.**" he reminded.

"Thank you for the warning, Enma-daio, but I still need you to open the gate." the giant deity nodded, pulling the gate open. With one last reassuring smile to Amaterasu, Kushinada headed into Yomi, intent on finding her lost love.

Deep in Yomi

Naruto grimaced as he wiped the blood off of his face. Apparently, the deeper one went into Yomi, the more violent the, as Tsukuyomi called them, Yokai got. They had long passed the dark, desolate wasteland, now in a place Tsukuyomi identified as the "Tengu Forest". From what she told him, this area was, obviously, occupied almost solely by the spirits of evil tengu. The tengu were much more formidable than the oni, being agile and strong. They weren't as durable as the oni, though, making it somewhat easier to slay them.

He turned to Tsukuyomi, who somehow was perfectly clean, not a drop of blood on her. "Hey, Tsu-chan," he called, drawing his girlfriend's attention, "you find anything?"

"I'm not sure…" she replied, looking puzzled. "I'm sensing Kami energy, but it's not Onii-san's…"

"What about that Amatsu Mikaboshi guy? He's a Kami, right?" she nodded.

"Yes, but his energy is very different from ours. Evil Kami always have a darker energy. This energy isn't dark, but it's not really light, either. It's… _chaotic_, and it's close." she frowned, thinking. The energy felt so familiar, but she just couldn't pin where she had sensed it before.

As he watched her, he winced, feeling his stomach tighten. Dismissing the pain as nothing serious, he attempted to continue their trek, only to fall to his knees, feeling as if a fire had been set inside of him. Tsukuyomi quickly took notice of this and rushed over to him. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?" he winced, trying to smile to reassure the moon goddess.

"Y-Yeah, Tsu-chan. I'm-" he grunted as the pain spiked, "I'm fine. D-Don't worry about me. We need to f-find Susanoo-sensei." he took multiple deep breaths, the pain beginning to dissipate slightly for some reason. "Alright?" she seemed unconvinced, but acquiesced, helping him to his feet.

"We still need to search the rest of this area before we can move on. Let's go." she headed off deeper into the forest. Naruto followed after her, unknowingly holding his stomach.

Unknown Location

Susanoo growled. This was more torturous than the physical torment by far. The monotonous drip of falling water, the relative silence of everything else around him, it was _annoying_. "If he's really going to kill me, I wish he'd just do it all ready. Yeesh, even _I _never took this long to finish someone off…"

"_Susanoo-kun?_" he blinked.

"Kushinada-chan?" he called. Was he hallucinating? Had the torture unhinged him?

"_Susanoo-kun! I can't tell you how good it feels to hear your voice, even if it's through telepathy._" he smirked. Their bond…

"_Likewise, Kushinada-chan. Where are you?_" he asked.

"_I'm in Yomi, looking for you._" he blinked, not expecting that.

"_You're _where_? Kushinada-chan, I never wanted you anywhere near this place! It's too dangerous!_"

"_I know it's dangerous, but if our roles were reversed, you would have dived headfirst into Yomi to save me. I'm going to do the same for you._" he smiled in spite of his anger.

"_Alright. We can argue later. Where are you exactly?_"

"_I'm near the Sanzu River._" he grinned triumphantly. He loved this woman.

"_Good. You can get me free. Listen closely…_" he began to relay directions for her, telling her how to get to him and what to do once she was there. With the two of them working together, this would never fail.

With Amaterasu

The sun goddess bounced her foot impatiently as the oni gave her a cup of tea. She trusted Tsukuyomi and Kushinada, but she shared her siblings' desire to save her loved ones herself. "**I am truly sorry, Amaterasu-Omikami-sama. I wish I could allow you inside.**" Enma apologized again. She waved off his apologies, sipping the tea. Its taste calmed her, made her less anxious about her siblings' return.

"You need not apologize, Enma-daio. I just want my siblings to return safely." he nodded. They were silent, no other subject to speak of. Enma had graciously allowed her into his private office, a rather spacious area due to his size. It was quite luxurious, as befitting the ruler of the lower realms. Trying to find something to distract her from her family's predicament, her thoughts turned to Naruto's training. Tsukuyomi had taken it over, due to them splitting up to search for Susanoo, but Tsukuyomi had kept her well informed. His skill at wind manipulation had increased dramatically, though she doubted he would be able to last even five seconds against a Kami. That fact was precisely why she was so uneasy about Naruto and Tsukuyomi going into Yomi without her. While her younger sister was quite powerful, being one of the oldest Kami, she would not be able to best the Kami that currently resided in the realm. There was one in particular that she was _extremely _worried about. Deciding to glean some information on said Kami's whereabouts, she drew Enma's attention. "Enma-daio."

"**Yes?**" he asked, his attention completely focused on her.

"Do you know the section of Yomi that Amatsu Mikaboshi resides in?" Enma shifted in his chair, seeming reluctant to speak of the evil Kami.

"…**Why do you ask?**" he responded after a moment.

"Enma-daio, you are well aware of how Amatsu Mikaboshi ended up in Yomi. You know the role I and my brother played in it. My imouto is in Yomi now. If she gets close enough for him to sense her…" she left the implications hanging. He nodded reluctantly.

"**I understand, Amaterasu-Omikami-sama. He is rather difficult to locate, even for my Shinigami.**" he began. "**I will summon one. Hopefully they can glean his whereabouts, and perhaps your sibling's as well.**" he waved his hand, summoning an odd creature to their side. It was roughly ten feet tall and wore a long white robe. The robe was open slightly at the chest, revealing its emaciated purple skin. Its hair was white and quite shaggy, making his head appear rather large. Poking out of the large mane were two long dark horns. It held a tanto with a bandage wrapped handle in its mouth.

"_**Yes, Enma-daio?**_" it asked, cocking its head.

"**Go into Yomi and find Amaterasu-Omikami-sama's siblings. I also want you to locate Amatsu Mikaboshi-sama. Report back to me when you've located either of them. Understand?**" the creature nodded, dissipating into a shower of white orbs.

With Kushinada

The raven haired woman pulled her tanto from her kimono as she crept through the dungeon-like area. Finding this place hadn't been easy. Yomi's landscape was deceptively tricky to those unfamiliar with it. Fortunately for her, Susanoo had been to Yomi quite a few times, so he was quite detailed in his directions to the otherwise unseen entrance to the "dungeon". It was guarded by two oni, though she was able to slip past them unseen. Fortunately for her, oni weren't too observant.

She swallowed, taking a deep breath. The air in this place was nearly suffocating. It felt vile, as if there was a pall over her head. Whoever lived here definitely wasn't someone she would enjoy spending time with. She crept past the few oni that were making their way through the halls rather easily. She understood that oni made good minions, but why were they the only ones in the base? They weren't exactly good security, as she had already demonstrated. "_Go down the next hallway and turn left_." she nodded, carefully sneaking around the corner. With every turn she made, Susanoo's voice got louder and clearer. She could tell from the clarity of his voice that he was close.

Soon enough, she came upon a pitch black door. It deeply contrasted the almost medieval look of the rest of the area, being sleek and flawless. She didn't even see a way to open it! "_Break it down._" he said.

"_But won't that-_"

"_Yes, but once its down, you just have to cut me free. Even weakened, I can handle his oni guards. Do it._" she nodded, bracing herself. She charged the door and slammed her shoulder into it, knocking it to the floor with a surprisingly loud thud. As she rubbed her shoulder, she allowed a smile to come to her face as she stared at her husband for the first time in half a year. In spite of the many scars that now adorned his torso, he looked surprisingly healthy. His face was mildly obscured by a bushy beard that, in her mind, didn't really fit him. She sped forward, kneeling to meet his eyes. "Hey, hime." he smiled weakly. "Cut off the chains." she nodded, slicing through them with her tanto. He rubbed his wrists, wincing as he shakily stood up. Kushinada grabbed him, helping him stay up. "It's good to see you again, hime. How's Imouto and the others?"

"We can catch up later, Susanoo-kun. We need to get you out of here." he nodded. She helped him walk as they made their way out of the room. Unfortunately, their escape would not be easy, as they saw several oni barreling down the hall towards them. Susanoo sighed, pulling free from Kushinada.

"I'll handle this…" he immediately fell to his knees, unable to stand without support. He looked down at his legs quizzically, clearly surprised at his body's weakness. Kushinada made him sit against the wall.

"You rest. I'll handle them. Have a little faith. I am _your_ wife, Susanoo-kun." he nodded.

"Give 'em hell, hime." she flipped her tanto into a reversed grip and bolted towards the oni. She ducked under one's club and swiftly cut its arm off as she smashed another's head into the wall. Seeing the shock on the group's faces, she capitalized on their surprise and charged them. She threw her tanto into one's head as she flipped another onto its back before breaking its arm. She wrenched its club out of the broken limb's hand and bashed open another's head with it. She furiously swung the large club, killing every single oni in the hall in a disturbingly bloody display. "Holy shit, hime…" Susanoo blinked, surprised at his wife's ferocity.

"What?" the now bloodstained woman asked as she tossed aside the blood-stained club. She retrieved her tanto and headed over to him.

"I don't think I've seen you be so… brutal. That's usually _my _job." he said as she helped him stand again.

"They took my husband." she responded simply. He smiled. She had come a long way from the shrine maiden he had met all those years ago.

"Let's go. Someone will have heard that." she nodded, helping him move through the halls to the exit.

With Naruto and Tsukuyomi 

Naruto wiped his brow, feeling a burning heat in his abdomen. The rest of his body, however, felt disturbingly cold. He had so far managed to keep Tsukuyomi unaware of his ailment, but he knew she was observant. She'd see it eventually. For now, at least, he had to keep his condition to himself, though. They needed to find Susanoo. They could worry about his ailment tomorrow.

He looked ahead to Tsukuyomi. As they got deeper and deeper into Yomi, Tsukuyomi had spoken less and less. She seemed… _anxious_ about something. Naruto had initially passed it off as worry for her older brother, but that seemed less likely now. Tsukuyomi was acting as if something was _hunting _them, not like she was worried about her brother. Naruto didn't feel anything, but that wasn't enough for him to dismiss it as paranoia. He had noticed that it was extremely difficult to sense the creatures in Yomi when he first entered. He hadn't sensed anything when the tengu first attacked. He could barely sense the oni outside the gate. He had guessed that it was due to their being, in Susanoo's words, in a different dimension of power compared to him. It was the same reason he couldn't sense Tsukuyomi or her siblings.

He winced as the burning sensation increased. As Tsukuyomi's paranoia increased, so did his pain. Taking a deep breath, he sped up his strides, moving closer to Tsukuyomi. He had to ignore it. They had to find Susanoo. Soon enough, they came upon a dark river. It wove through the bleak landscape like a serpent, going on far past what he could see. Naruto stared into the river, wondering what sort of fish would live in such a dark river. Much to his shock, a face stared back at him. It was contorted in a look of pure, unbridled suffering, a look that Naruto had never really thought could seem so horrific. He jumped back, afraid that something else in the water might pull him in.

Seeing his shock, Tsukuyomi called his attention. "This is the Sanzu River. That was an evil human soul."

"Human souls are put into a river as punishment?" he asked. Naruto didn't really see that as a suitable punishment for people like Orochimaru.

"They aren't the only ones in there, Naruto-kun. We keep serpents in the river. Carnivorous serpents." he gulped. Okay, that was definitely punishment… "Oh, and they can't get out. Ever." Yeah, _definitely_ a suitable punishment. As Naruto peeked into the river again, Tsukuyomi suddenly gasped in recognition.

"What is it, Tsu-chan?" Naruto asked, jumping up.

"I…I can sense Onii-san…" she shakily replied, shocked at the sudden appearance of her brother's life force.

"Really? That's great! Where is he?" he asked excitedly. Now they could hopefully get out of this damn place!

"He's close. That's all I can get. He barely has any energy in his body, but he's alive." she responded, frowning in concentration. Without the Yata-no-Kagami, she had difficulty picking up her brother's life force. She shut her eyes, honing her senses to locate her brother. After several moments, she opened her eyes and began sprinting along the river, having locked on to his life force. Naruto, surprised, quickly followed after her. He found himself struggling to keep up with the small Kami, though he was managing to keep her in sight. Eventually they reached a ninety degree bend in the river, where Naruto saw two figures on the bank. Their physical features were muted by the lack of light, rendering Naruto unable to recognize them at this distance. The only thing he could definitively make out was that they were both covered in a red substance, which he guessed to be blood. Tsukuyomi reached them far sooner than he did, and she excitedly embraced them, confusing Naruto until he got closer and could make out who they were.

Tsukuyomi tightly hugged her family members, happy to see them both again. Aside from Kushinada being covered in blood, they seemed relatively okay, though Susanoo was quite weak, looking to have been tortured, if the marks on his chest were any indication. "Onii-san, who did this to you?" she asked, grimacing at the numerous scars on his torso.

"Who do you think?" he responded, grunting as he adjusted his hold on Kushinada.

"Amatsu Mikaboshi…" Kushinada growled out. Tsukuyomi frowned, her gaze returning to her brother's scars.

"I wish I had my mirror. I could heal these for you." he shrugged uncaringly.

"They'll heal once I get my powers back." he dismissed. He looked around the area, scanning for potential threats. "We should get out of here. Some really big yokai like to frequent this area, and we'll be hard pressed to beat them without a decent weapon." Tsukuyomi nodded. The group began to go back up the river, moving as fast as they could without Susanoo's wounds opening. "Hey, Gaki." Susanoo called, making Naruto look back at him. "Is that Tonbogiri? How'd you get it?" he asked, pointing to the spear on Naruto's back. The blonde nodded.

"Amaterasu-sensei gave it to me as a reward for progressing in my training." he explained, proud of his accomplishment. Susanoo nodded, a proud smile on his face. His student was in possession of a sacred object, and seemed to be putting it to good use. He earned it. He could tell that the blonde had come a long way since the last time he had seen him. It was impressive.

The group continued to make their way along the bed of the Sanzu River, astonishingly avoiding any yokai spirits. The lack of attacks were serving to unnerve Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. As he had said, large yokai frequented the area around the Sanzu River. They weren't exactly the type of yokai that could hide themselves, either. They all jumped when a loud crash erupted from behind them. They turned to see a large serpent with eight heads staring ominously at them. "Well," Susanoo whistled, "this is unexpected."

"What's wrong, Susanoo-sensei?" Naruto asked, pulling Tonbogiri from his back and taking a combat stance.

"That's the Yamata-no-Orochi. I killed it when I met Kushinada-hime." As it slithered closer to them, they were able to make out the many wounds on the creature, all of them looking extremely old. The creature seemed to immediately take notice of Susanoo, roaring furiously at the group. "Good to see I left an impression…"

"So this thing is the legendary eight headed serpent?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from Susanoo. "And it won't likely leave us alone, since you're the one who killed it, right?" another nod. "Okay, that leaves us with one option, then. Fight." Naruto hefted his spear, staring down the serpent.

"Naruto-kun-" Tsukuyomi was about to stop him, but she was cut off by her brother.

"Go for it, Gaki." Naruto grinned at his sensei, charging towards the serpent. Tsukuyomi glared at her brother. "He won't grow as a fighter if you coddle him, Imouto."

"He's still just a Ningen, Onii-san!" she protested. Susanoo grimaced slightly, unnerving the diminutive Kami.

"Not anymore."

Naruto scowled as he charged the serpent, feeling the burning in his stomach increase. Unlike before, though, it actually felt… _good_, like an explosion of power erupting from deep within him. He didn't know what it was, but the Yamata-no-Orochi no longer felt as threatening. He felt like he could take on anything right now.

He ducked under the tail sent flying towards him and stabbed his blade into the serpent's chest. The beast roared in pain even as several of its heads dove down for Naruto. Naruto quickly pulled the blade free and jumped back, narrowly avoiding their snapping jaws. '_Okay, I think I just pissed it off._' he thought with a slight grimace, seeing that it didn't really seem to care about the wound. '_How am I supposed to kill this thing?_'

Off to the side, Tsukuyomi was asking her brother just that question. "It's not immortal," her brother answered, "I proved that years ago. I'm not exactly sure how to kill it here, though."

"What do you mean?"

"See those burn marks?" he asked, gesturing to the many wounds on the serpent. In spite of their obvious age, they still looked to be extremely painful. She nodded. "I made those. I stabbed it with the Totsuka and fried it. With that thing's scales, Naruto's wind won't be much help. Tonbogiri can pierce them, but unless Naruto's a hell of a lot faster than he was six months ago, he won't have a lot of luck with that, either."

"So are you saying he can't win?"

"No. He's going to win this. I know he will." he smiled at his sister. "That kid is strong. Stronger than any Ningen I have ever met. He'll find a way."

Naruto huffed as he dodged another swipe of the serpent's tail. Its 16 appendages were blindingly fast. Coupled with their incredible length, Naruto felt like he was running out of options. It kept snapping at him, keeping him away from its vital areas. '_At the rate this is going, I'm never getting out of here._' he weaved around a head, lashing out at it with his spear. He cut clean through its neck, nearly cutting it off. Landing on his feet, Naruto looked up at the wound, then looked to his spear. '_Tonbogiri can get through its scales…_' he looked back up to the Orochi. '_It can't heal… Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way. It can't fight without a head, er, heads…_'

Naruto grinned to himself, tightening his grip on Tonbogiri. He charged forward, provoking the creature. It sent one of its heads barreling towards the blonde, jaws agape. Naruto danced around the serpent's jaws and slammed the shaft of Tonbogiri against the head that was after him. He jumped past it and, in a single, fluid motion, stabbed the blade into it's neck and cut the head off, sending it flying into the Sanzu River. Yamata-no-Orochi reared back, roaring in pain as the stump flailed about wildly, blood spurting infrequently from it. Naruto grinned, feeling his adrenaline pick up. He hurt it. He could do this!

Elsewhere

His face was fixed in a scowl as he stormed through the halls, a dark aura seeping from him. He quickly reached Susanoo's cell and headed inside. His scowl deepened as he saw Susanoo not in his cell, the chains cut by a blade of some kind. "**Damn you, Susanoo…**" he growled. He looked down at the door. It was relatively intact, a small dent in the center. Clenching his fists, he brought his foot down on the ebony door, shattering it.

"Um, boss?" an imp stepped into the cell meekly, seeing his master's foul mood.

"**What?**" he questioned, not even turning around.

"Susanoo has escaped…"

"**I can see that, you imbecile!**" he growled, his aura flaring wildly.

"B-But we know where he's gone!" he quickly added. This got his master's attention. "He, his wife, his sister, and some boy are on the Sanzu riverbed not far from here. The boy is battling the spirit of the Yamata-no-Orochi."

"**How far are they from here?**" he asked, approaching the still terrified imp.

"N-Not too far! Their pace must be so slow because of Susanoo's injuries! If you go now, you should be able to catch him!" his master raised his hand, the shadowy aura still coalescing around him. The imp began to shake, certain that he was about to lose his life. He shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow. To his surprise, he felt a gentle patting on his head. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see his master still looking furious, but he seemed… _happier_ somehow, his face holding a slight smirk to it.

"**You've done well, imp. Get an oni to clean up the hallway.**" the imp nodded, immediately taking off to complete his next task.

He grinned sadistically. He could end Susanoo and his loved ones in a single stroke! This just kept getting better and better!

Back with Naruto & Co

Naruto stabbed his spear into Orochi's mouth, making it roar in pain once again. For all the legends about the creature, it wasn't as dangerous as they had led him to believe. It was definitely lethal, but legends had painted it as almost as fearsome as the Kami themselves. He took a moment to examine his handiwork. He had severed two heads so far, and damaged three of it's remaining mouths.

Seeing that it had already recovered, he pulled his spear free and jumped off of the head, narrowly avoiding another snap of its jaws in the process. Before he could land, however, it swung its tail, knocking him against the ground. Surprised at the attack, he was unable to block the head that slammed atop him, barely getting Tonbogiri up in time to prevent it from eating him. Not to be deterred, it closed its jaws around the weapon and reared its head back before releasing it, sending the blonde into the air.

"Shit!" he cursed, unable to maneuver in time to avoid the creature's heads slamming into him. He grunted, releasing Tonbogiri from the shock. The spear spun as it fell, embedding its blade in the ground a good ten feet from Naruto.

Tsukuyomi was about to dash forward to assist her boyfriend, but was stopped by her brother's hand grabbing her shoulder. "Imouto, don't."

"It's not coddling if I'm keeping him from dying!" she shouted. She wasn't going to let Naruto die in a battle that could have been avoided.

"I know. Wait. He's going to be fine. Can't you sense it?" she frowned at her brother.

"Sense what?" she turned back to Naruto, who was being pummeled by the Orochi's heads. Her brother's firm hand on her shoulder was the only thing keeping her from charging towards Orochi to protect him.

"Ignore what's happening. Look at Naruto. Does he look worried?" she focused her gaze on Naruto's face. To her surprise, the blonde was _grinning_. "I told you, he's not the boy he was when we first met him. He's stronger than ever." he smiled at his little sister. "He will win."

Naruto grabbed the head as it impacted him, immediately halting its momentum. His eyes were wild, showing an odd madness in them. He grit his teeth, standing up as he firmly kept hold of the serpent's head. He dug his heels into the ground and braced himself before _lifting_ the Yamata-no-Orochi off of the ground and slamming him onto his back. Successfully stunning the creature, Naruto bolted over to Tonbogiri and grabbed it before quickly speeding back over to the serpent and cutting off another head. Orochi's other heads flailed as they tried to flip the body back over. Naruto didn't give it time, however, and quickly began to sever its heads. By the time Orochi had flipped itself back over, it was down to three heads. Naruto deftly spun Tonbogiri, flicking the blood from its blade. He wasn't even winded from the immense show of force.

Naruto stared down the bleeding creature, feeling more power than ever coursing through his body. He raised his spear, knowing that if he attacked again, he would destroy the great serpent. He could tell that the serpent knew it, too. "Come on," he muttered, "make your move so that I can end this." the Orochi hissed angrily at the blonde, one of its remaining heads casting a furious glare at Susanoo before it slinked into the Sanzu River, retreating from the battle. Naruto grinned widely. "I won…" he turned to face Tsukuyomi, who looked elated at his victory. "I won!" he ran over to her and scooped her up, spinning her around, ecstatic at his victory.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun." she said, smiling as he put her back down. She locked eyes with him and immediately frowned confusedly, making Naruto look at her, confused.

"What is it, Tsu-chan?"

"Your eyes, Naruto-kun. They're red." Naruto frowned, releasing her and moving over to the river to see his reflection. She was right. His eyes were red, the pupils slits. They were just like when he was using…

"Kyuubi…" he placed Tonbogiri on his back, turning back to face Tsukuyomi. "Were they like this the whole time?"

"I couldn't see." Naruto frowned, worried. Every time Kyuubi had manifested, save for the incident when Jiraiya was training him, it had been an attempt to take over his body. Right now, though, he didn't feel anything like those moments. He felt better than ever. '_Maybe Kyuubi finally decided to help me?_'

"Don't worry, Naruto." Susanoo said, drawing the blonde's attention. "Kyuubi's power is a variation on Kami power, which is why it's so potent. It's mostly his will that runs risks, and as long as you're around us, he shouldn't try to take you over."

"Why?"

"We _made_ him, Naruto-kun." Tsukuyomi reminded. "He's well aware of how easily we could destroy him. He won't risk his death just for freedom."

"It's strange, though." Susanoo interjected. "Kyuubi's power, even lessened by that Shinigami, would be more than enough to obliterate Yamata-no-Orochi. Maybe the seal's leaking…"

"But Kyuubi only loans me a certain amount of his chakra at a time. He's never given me anything close to all of it."

"Yes, but the Yamata-no-Orochi was going to kill you. He would have pumped as much of his power into you as he could to kill it." Susanoo responded. "With the amount you were given, you still could have died."

"I don't see how that's proof that something bad is happening." Naruto said, scratching his head. He froze as he suddenly found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. "Okay, maybe he has a point…"

"**Gaki…**" Kyuubi's tone was markedly different from how it usually spoke to Naruto. It was less condescending than usual, having a slight hint of eagerness to it. "**Why are you in Yomi?**"

"I thought you could see outside my body." Naruto said. "How could you not know?"

"**Your life isn't as entertaining as you seem to think. I was asleep.**" Naruto blinked, staring at Kyuubi incredulously.

"Seriously?"

"**What? I can't take a nap?**" it replied, sounding a bit indignant. Naruto wasn't sure to say. The thought of a malevolent entity feared by his entire village taking a _nap_ just seemed… weird, to say the least. Kyuubi crept forward, its eyes focusing on the blonde. "**Answer my question, Gaki. Why are you in Yomi?**"

"To free Susanoo." Naruto said. He then saw an emotion in Kyuubi's eye that he had never seen before: _fear_. "He was your creator, right?"

"**No.**" Naruto frowned. "**I was not created by the Kami.**"

"But they said-" Kyuubi scoffed, a condescending smirk adorning its face.

"**You're too gullible, Gaki. You believe anything that anyone tells you. You believed that idiot sensei of yours when he said you were me!**"

"I…" Naruto felt extremely confused now. The siblings had been nothing but honest to him so far, at least, he thought they had. Now Kyuubi was saying they were lying to him. '_I'm missing something here. Either Tsu-chan and her siblings are lying, or Kyuubi is lying. It's most likely Kyuubi, but he's never lied to me before, either._'

"**Don't think too hard about it. Your brain might explode.**" Naruto glared at the fox.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"**It's always entertaining to watch you screw up, so yes.**"

"What are you doing to my body, Kyuubi?"

"**I'm not doing anything, Gaki. It's your location that's affecting you.**"

"What? What does being in Yomi have to do with your power leaking from my body?"

"_**Everything**_**.**" its eyes narrowed at the blonde. "**Gaki, I'm going to be clear with you. I hate you. A lot. But you need to know something about the Kami.**" Naruto stared impassively at the large fox. He needed to withhold his final judgment of who to trust until he had enough information to make a proper decision. Amaterasu had taught him that much. '_Guess her training was useful after all._'

"What, Kyuubi?"

"**They're not as benevolent as you seem to think, your girlfriend's brother especially.**" Naruto frowned again, but remained silent. "**They're hiding a great deal from you, Naruto.**"

"Like what, Kyuubi? I'm going to need a lot more than just your word to believe you." he wisely responded.

"**Heh.**" Kyuubi chuckled, grinning slightly. "**Guess you actually were paying attention to that Kami's lessons. I half expected you to start ranting about how much you trust them, or something stupid like that.**"

"Get to the point." Naruto said impatiently.

"**I miss the time when you were afraid of me…**" the fox grumbled. Where was the respect? "**The nine Biju are the culmination of the natural power of the world.**"

"Huh?"

"**Apparently you're still an idiot.**" the fox grumbled. "**We are the manifestations of a certain element of the world. The more tails we have, the more destructive what we represent is.**"

"And what do you represent?" Kyuubi grinned pridefully.

"**Negative energy. I've been called anger in a sentient form.**"

"So the whole 'causing tsunamis and tidal waves with a shake of your tail' thing is true?" Naruto asked. The fox nodded.

"**You've felt my power. What do you think?**"

"So what does this have to do with the Kami supposedly lying to me?"

"**Damned impatient Ningen… We were created by the Rikudo Sennin, not by the Kami. It's my first memory.**"

"But why would they lie about something as frivolous as that?" Naruto said, frowning in confusion.

"**You can't trust them, Gaki. Any of them.**"

"But Tsu-chan's-"

"**A Kami. One of the oldest. They've been looking for the Biju for centuries, Gaki. It's a power struggle.**"

"Power struggle? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"**Look, you dumbass, I'm actually trying to help you.**" the fox said, sighing exasperatedly. "**Every Biju is aware of this struggle. The Kami are fighting for who's going to be top dog. You've basically been drafted by the San Kizoku no Kodomo. Sounds fun, doesn't it?**"

"Even in the off chance that you're telling me the truth, there's still the matter of the proof you haven't shown me yet." Naruto didn't believe the Kyuubi. While he knew there was bad blood between a few Kami, it just wasn't possible for him to believe it without some definitive proof.

"**I would, but I can't.**"

"Why?" Naruto pressed, stepping closer to the cage.

"**When your father and that damned Shinigami sealed me in you, they sent half of my power to Yomi. If you get it, I can prove it to you.**"

"You could also use that boost of power to break out of the seal." Naruto glared at the fox.

"**True. Gaki, you'll have to choose who to trust, the Kami that have been manipulating your race for centuries, or the creature that will die if you do. Honestly, which of us has more incentive to manipulate you?**" the fox grinned, seeing the conflicted look that briefly formed on Naruto's face. '_**Come on, Gaki. You and I both know who you'll choose.**_'

Naruto clenched his jaw. If Kyuubi was telling the truth, a most unlikely prospect, then he had been lied to. If Kyuubi was lying, then he finally had people who genuinely cared about him. '_Something just doesn't feel right about any of this. Kyuubi's talk about a power struggle could just be an attempt to get free. Foxes are tricksters by nature. Even so, I've been feeling off ever since we got in Yomi. If Kyuubi's power is really in here, I could be… what's the word Amaterasu-sensei used… resonating with it._' One thing Naruto was certain of was that he couldn't let that power remain free. '_If there really are evil Kami in here, I can't let his power remain free. Even with half of his power, Kyuubi is still strong enough to overpower other Biju. If a Kami got their hands on it, we'd be screwed…_'

"Alright, Kyuubi. I'll get your power for you, but on one condition." Naruto offered.

"**And what might that be?**" Naruto smirked.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Naruto blinked, finding himself on his back.

"Uh, yeah, Tsu-chan. What happened?" he asked, sitting up and looking around. They were still on the riverbed, Yamata-no-Orochi's severed heads still laying on the ground around them. Susanoo and Kushinada were standing not ten feet away, her working to keep his wounds closed.

"You lost consciousness after you beat the Yamata-no-Orochi." Tsukuyomi said, looking concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, Tsu-chan." he assured, standing up with a smile on his face. After a moment, he frowned, looking to the other side of the river. "Do you feel that?" he asked. '_Is that…_'

"Feel what?" the diminutive goddess asked.

"That power. Almost feels like Kyuubi's…" the blonde said absently, ambling towards the river. Tsukuyomi immediately pulled him back. Was he crazy?

"What are you doing? I told you, that river is filled with serpents! They'll eat you alive!" she reminded. She immediately took notice of the blonde's unfocused gaze. "Naruto-kun?"

"I've gotta get to the power…" he mumbled, moving back to the river. This time Susanoo stopped him.

"Gaki, you can't go into the Sanzu River. It'll kill you." Naruto brushed past the injured Kami. Just as he was about to step into the river, Kyuubi's power burst from his body, sending him clear over the river. He gracefully landed and continued his journey, surprising the Kami. "Where the hell's he going?" Susanoo asked, turning to his equally confused sister.

"I.. don't really know. He said he sensed a power. A power like Kyuubi's." Susanoo groaned.

"Ah, fuck…"

"What's wrong?" Kushinada asked.

"That probably _is_ Kyuubi's power. Naruto's dad summoned a shinigami to seal it up. It makes sense that they'd put it here." he grimaced. "Those things are more trouble than they're worth. I'm starting to wonder if making them was such a good idea in the first place…" his gaze turned back to his sister, a serious look on his face. "Imouto, you need to go after him. That power is too strong for Naruto to contain. Even half of its power is enough to nearly overwhelm him. He's not strong enough to handle it all." she nodded.

"I'll grab him and get out. What about you? Are you going to be okay?" he grinned, gesturing towards Kushinada, who was helping him stay up.

"I've got my bodyguard to keep me safe." she smiled faintly before nodding, once again serious.

"Good luck." she said before jumping over the river and bolted after the blonde Jinchuriki.

"Come on, Susanoo-kun." Kushinada said, urging him to continue on their trek to the gate. He nodded, a hand clutching his chest.

"We'd better get out of here soon, or you might have to carry me out."

"I will, if that's what it takes." he smirked.

"You've come a long way from when you were human." he complimented. "You needed me to protect you. Now it's the other way around."

"I can't be weak if I'm to be respected as your wife. I refuse to be your weakness." she stated, a serious look on her face.

"**You stopped being his weakness years ago.**" they both stopped in their tracks. "**He only has two weaknesses. His explosive temper and his tendency to take in hopeless Ningen.**" they turned around, both of them glaring at the man before them. He had long raven black hair, stopping at the middle of his back. He had a deceptively pleasant face, the sadistic look in his eyes being the only inkling of his true nature. His skin was pure white, making his black eyes all the more unnerving. Most noticeable, though, was the horrific scar on his neck. It was rather jagged in appearance, looking as though it had been sloppily mended. Kushinada stood protectively in front of her husband.

"Amatsu Mikaboshi…"

* * *

**And done! Hooray! I'm ecstatic that this chapter is done. **

**So, yeah, Kushinada is a badass. I figured, being Susanoo's wife, she had to have learned a few things from him over the years. As for Naruto being able to take down Yamata-no-Orochi, that wasn't just because of his training. This chapter has a bunch of little plot hints, so look for them if you want any previews for next chapter. **

**It's been extremely hard to get a grip on the storyline lately, and that's caused some major writer's block. Dealing with that has caused me to make a decision. While MOTG is still my priority, I will resume work on my other stories, primarily to avoid getting another case of writer's block. Hopefully, that will speed up my posts a bit. ****Keep reading!**

**Forever in the Sky,**

**The Red Star**


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